After seven weeks on the sidelines it took Patrick Osborne barely 90 seconds to score just inside one at AMI Stadium and justify his selection for the NPC premiership final in Christchurch on Saturday night.
Osborne's try inside two minutes of Canterbury's tense 25‑23 victory over arch rivals Auckland had been a long time coming ‑ the 28‑year‑old Fijian finisher had not scored since the Highlanders' historic Super Rugby campaign.
Osborne typically downplayed his involvement in the first of Canterbury's three tries ‑ he also had a hand in Ryan Crotty's third ‑ preferring to credit sharp passing from Matt Todd and man of‑the‑match Tom Taylor.
