Otago went down to North Harbour 17-14 at Forsyth Barr Stadium last night, which means it will stay in the second tier of domestic rugby for another season.
A wobbly looking dropped goal from North Harbour first five-eighth Bryn Gatland with 15 seconds left on the clock won the Mitre 10 Cup Championship final 17-14 for the visitors, in a match which was on a knife edge for most of the second half.
It was a tough loss for Otago to take — the side scored a try just over a minute into the contest and had other chances.
But it could not put a pesky Harbour side away as three missed penalty attempts in the second half came back to haunt the Otago side. Otago coach Cory Brown said it was a tough way to lose.
"It’s hard but Harbour did well. It was a really tight final and I just really feel for the boys. There is not many words you can say to be honest," he said.
"We had an opportunity to win it but unfortunately we didn’t. But I’m extremely proud of the way the boys played all year and to get a home final.
"It sort of looked as though it was heading to extra time and that would have helped us. But that didn’t happen."
A crowd of about 12,000 attended the match.