It was celebrations and despair as the Wellington Lions team won in extra time in difficult conditions to defeat Bay of Plenty 23-20 in the final of the NPC this afternoon.
It was a fitting final at the Sky Stadium in Wellington as finalists Bay of Plenty and the Wellington Lions rugby teams were locked in a 20-all draw.
Both teams displayed aggressive, constructive, and free-flow rugby as they went into extra time to decide the winner of the trophy.
Wellington led Bay of Plenty at halftime with 15-7.
In the second half, Bay of Plenty showed a lot of grit and firepower to close the scoreboard and eventually, lock the points at 20-20 with six minutes left on the final.
The Bay of Plenty side completed 19 phases, but could not conceive any points.
In the final ten minutes, Wellington Lions fly-half Callum Harkin slotted in a penalty kick to seal their win.
