Otago came desperately close to winning the national sevens tournament in Queenstown yesterday before it fell 36-24 to tournament favourite Auckland.
The home side battled through the round robin matches, quarterfinals and semifinals, to meet the defending champion. In doing so, it equalled its effort of 2004, when it last made the final.
The young side was the clear underdog in the final but, if there were nerves, it did not show as straight from the kick-off, captain Paul Grant burst into a 30m run before Auckland tied the giant forward down.
Otago was soon on the back foot, before Auckland's Tenina Sauilaeoge broke the line and sent Lolagi Visina over for its first try.
Otago replied quickly, through national sevens debutant Kieran Moffat, who stood out as one of Otago's players of the tournament.
Missed tackles and attacking jitters from Otago allowed Auckland to creep through again, but a sharp run and a quick tap from player of the tournament, Buxton Popoali'i, set Grant up in the corner to give the home side a 17-12 lead at the break.
Otago was set back when Joe Hill went off with a foot injury early in the second half and Auckland capitalised with an overlap in the outfield and Malakai Fekitoa scored to retake back the lead.
The visitors then began to scrap away from Otago's gutsy effort and scored tries through Sauilaeoge and Ben Lam, a 31-17 lead, with no time for Otago to creep back.
However, Otago made every effort, after scoring a try, as Auckland was left one man down, after Rocky Khan was sent from the field for a dangerous tackle.
Alex Samoa laid the game to rest for Auckland dotting down before fulltime.
Otago's road to the final told a convincing story.
Beating Horowhenua Kapiti 29-12 and Southland 40-12, North Island tournament winner Taranaki was the only side to beat ithem in five games before the final.
They were convincing against Manawatu yesterday, 31-5, and unexpectedly trampled Canterbury by 31 unanswered points.
Highlights of Otagos Games
Horowhenua-Kapati
Taranaki
Southland
Quarter-Final - Manawatu
Semi-Final - Canterbury
Final - Auckland