Joy for Wakatipu. Anguish for South Otago.
The Queenstown school prevailed 20-19 in a thrilling Otago Premier Schools championship match at Wakatipu High School on Saturday afternoon.
First five-eighth Lucas Erskine drilled a penalty in the final moments of the game to secure a tense win.
His side had dominated the first half, slipping out to a 17-0 lead.
But the visitor scored three second half tries and was ahead 19-17 during the final stages of the match.
It looked like it might escape the resort town with a narrow win until the referee spotted an infringement at the breakdown.
Wakatipu First XV coach Jim Gilbert said the it was a "classic game of two halves".
"It was 17-0 to us and pretty much one-way traffic," he said.
"It was looking good turning around. But they came out and dominated the second half.
"We just could not get our hands on the ball. They scored three tries as well but converted one more than we did and had a lead.
"But we managed to sneak it with a last-second penalty."
It was fitting Erskine scored the winning points. He did a fine job steering his side around and defended well when it was under pressure.
Centre Lachie Marshall scored arguably the try of the game. Erskine found his target with a nice skip pass and Marshall ghosted through a gap and stepped the fullback to score from 50m.
Powerful No 8 Alesana Tulafono and openside Sam McLean were also instrumental in the win. They both had a high work rate.
In the other championship matches, St Kevin’s College beat the Combined Coeds 59-17 and Otago Boys’ 2nds edged Waitaki Boys’ 24-20.
In the top-tier premiership there was joy for Dunstan High School. It beat rival Mt Aspiring 25-21 in Wanaka to cement its place in the top four.
Competition leader King’s beat John McGlashan College 31-7, while Otago Boys’ and Southland Boys’ battled to a 19-19 draw.
John McGlashan and Mt Aspiring will play each other this weekend, but win or lose, both sides will be relegated to the championship, while Otago Boys’ 2nds have enough points to gain promotion and St Kevin’s is almost through as well.
The premiership is likely to be a daunting challenge for both sides, however.