"I reckon that’s the best feeling of my life."
As the crowd roared, that was all Waitaki Boys’ High School try-scoring hero Liam Mavor could manage following Waitaki’s dramatic 21-19 win over St Kevin’s College yesterday.
The replacement halfback spotted a mismatch in the St Kevin’s defence and took his chance to level the scores, 19-19, in the final seconds.
Waitaki was camped in the opposition 22m for a long time, stringing together multiple phases but unable to break through the defence.
St Kevin’s held strong but gave away three penalties in a row to let Waitaki Boys’ reset and go again.
Mavor, who had eight weeks out earlier this season after breaking his collarbone, saw the gap and scored, converting his own try to steal back the Leo O’Malley Trophy from St Kevin’s.
Waitaki had a strong start when powerful No 8 Lotu Fifita bustled his way off the back of the lineout to get first points on the board. He was key with the ball in hand, making several big carries for his side.
No 8 Kaleb Cant scored not long after to give St Kevin’s a 10-7 advantage.
Both teams made some crucial handling and kicking errors at key times, a sign of the tense nature throughout the match.
Waitaki Boys’ was strong defensively in the first half and was clinical over the ball, forcing several turnovers. That resulted in Waitaki Boys’ captain Adrian Tevao capitalising, scoring a converted try to give his side a 14-13 lead heading into the break.
St Kevin’s came out of the break renewed and worked the ball through its elusive backline to put the team in the right part of the park.
Fullback Isaac Clunie knocked over two quick penalties to give his side a narrow advantage. The boys in blue tackled their hearts out for the final part of the game, but in the end it just was not enough.
Tevao said he was relieved his team won, following the disappointment of last year’s record loss.
"Ever since last year, it’s been in the back of my mind. It means a lot," the 17-year-old said.
