The team came out of the Otago Country under-21 side which played last year in the South Island representative competition.
That side did not have any success last year, losing all five of its games, and looked to be going under after the national union switched its focus to a national under-19 competition.
But undeterred, a couple of willing volunteers and the Sassenachs club got involved and the Sassenachs under-20 colts team was born.
Team manager Bob Perriam said a few people from the country area wanted a side to which the young players in the region could aspire.
Players in the country had only one representative team to aim for, the Otago Country senior team, and it was difficult for young players to get to that level.
The Sassenachs Colts played Otago Country and Otago under-19 last month and tasted defeat both times, but they finally grabbed a win in Christchurch on Saturday, beating the Cantabrians under-20 team 18-16.
A penalty goal by first five-eighth Logan Beggs right at the end of the match won the game for the side.
About 75% of the team is made up of players from country clubs while the rest is players from Dunedin clubs with country connections.
Perriam said the win was a huge thrill and it won the Tiny Hill Trophy, the former All Black presenting the trophy after the match on Saturday. The trophy is contested between Sassenachs and Cantabrians teams.
Perriam said the players could only train once a week as they could not get easily to practice.
Winger Reuben McLay was one example of the dedication the players had to the team.
A musterer at Walter Peak Station, on the western side of Lake Wakatipu, it sometimes took him up to two days to get home from a game, depending on the water taxi schedule from Queenstown.
Last Thursday, the players went to Milton to train and then stayed overnight in South Otago. They then travelled by bus to Christchurch on Friday, played the game on Saturday, and returned south after the game on Saturday night.
The colts have one game left against Otago Maori Colts at Cromwell on Saturday.
