It beat St Hilda’s 12-10 in the Otago secondary schoolgirls final on Wednesday night.
Ordinarily, that result would have booked the school a place in the Highlanders final against Southland Girls’ on Monday.
The winner of that game will play the Crusaders region champion for a spot in the top four.
But Otago Girls’ made a decision to field an ineligible player, fully aware it would mean the team would not be allowed to contest the Highlanders final and make a bid for top four glory.
That ineligible player was talented first five Abigail Paton, of East Otago High School.
East Otago does not field a team in the competition, so if Paton wanted to play, it had to be for a different school.
She joined Otago Girls’ and has played every game and attended every training, despite the travel involved.
But while she was eligible to play in the local competition for a different school, she was deemed ineligible to play in the Highlanders final because it is a top-four qualifying game, and teams for the national competition have to be "clean".
That means the players have to attend the school they are representing.
Otago Girls’ co-coach Mike Jackson said the rules were there to prevent schools stacking their first XV with quality players from outside the school, and that had some merit.
But by strictly adhering to the rules, players such as Paton were locked out and it was not fair.
"It is a national rule but we think it should be case by case," Jackson said.
"At the end of the day, isn’t it about girls playing rugby?
"Would we even be having this conversation if she wasn’t as good as she is?"
Jackson did not say who that broadside was aimed at. But essentially, in his view, any rule that prevents someone playing rugby is a poor rule.
The team was adamant Paton should be able to play. She had nowhere else to play and she was an integral member of the team, so a decision was made to take a vote on whether the side should deliberately flout the rules and cop the consequences.
The vote was unanimous.
Paton offered to step aside but the team wanted her to play and she took her spot in the team for the Otago final.
Her appearance meant Otago Girls’ was disqualified from progressing, so St Hilda’s will take the spot in the Highlanders final in Dunedin on Monday instead.
Otago Girls’ is unbeaten this season and recently beat Southland Girls by nearly 50 points.
The team made a brave decision that may well have cost it a national title.
Otago Secondary Schools Rugby Council chairman Greg Heller said he could understand Otago Girls’ disappointment.
"But they made an informed decision," he said.
"The metro girls competition has its own match committee and they set the local rules which allowed Abigail to participate as part of the Otago Girls’ team.
"But when it came to top four ... because Abigail did not meet the requirements, she would have to sit out that game.
"I can understand [their frustration] but we are bound by that set of rules.
"Whether it is right or wrong is not for me to decide."
