He who fumbles last, loses.
Both teams suffered from a bad case of the dropsies at Forsyth Barr Stadium tonight.
But Otago held on to the ball when it really counted and upset Auckland 27-25 in front of a modest crowd of around 1000.
Veteran Otago hooker Liam Coltman put in an impressive 55 minute shift and was influential in the set pieces.
Diminutive fullback Finn Hurley continues to play like he is six-foot-eight and 120kg.
Lock Fabian Holland got stuck in. But it was Sam Gilbert who starred.
He scored a crucial try in the second half to help clinch the win.
He chipped ahead for fellow midfielder Thomas Umaga-Jensen, who tossed back an inside pass for Gilbert who ran away to score under the posts.
While there were a ton of errors in the game, there was some stunning skill as well.
Hurley’s offload early in the first half and Gilbert’s magic moment are sure to make the highlight reel.
Otago was a lot more committed at the breakdown as well.
But the dropsies started early.
Auckland fumbled the kick off and gifted Otago an early opportunity to strike and they duly obliged.
They had a crack from a lineout drive but when that started to break apart, they swung it wide to Hurley who got on the outside of his marker and got a circus pass away to Josh Whaanga who just had to dive over.
But Otago botched the restart and eventually conceded a penalty.
Anton Segner claimed it for Auckland. He got the ball to lock Josh Beehre who scampered to the line.
Otago thought they had struck back when Whaanga got a delightful offload to Gilbert who jigged his way to the line.
But AJ Lam managed to hold him up over the line in a try-saving tackle.
A couple or three fumbles later, Hurley chipped to the corner and Auckland was forced to take it into touch.
Otago worked a lineout move and Will Stodart made a strong charge towards the line. The pack helped out. They got in behind him and helped drive him over to take a 17-13 lead into the break.
Auckland had the better of the half but were not able to convert their opportunities. That was partly down to some good defence. The home team was also enjoying success in the set pieces.
Auckland seized the initiative early in the second spell. Highlanders midfielder Tanielu Tele'a threw a monster skip pass to winger Nigel Ah Wong and he went over in the corner from a set piece move.
But Gilbert’s chip and Umaga-Jensen’s inside ball set up the match winner.
Tele'a scored late to set up a tense finish.
Otago 27
Josh Whaanga, Will Stodart, Sam Gilbert tries; Cameron Millar 3 con, 2 pen
Auckland 25
Josh Beehre, Nigel Ah Wong, Tanielu Tele'a tries; Christian Leali’ifano con, 2 pen, Xavi Taele con.
Halftime: 17-13
