Arrowtown was guilty of playing too much footy in its own half to begin the game, gifting the visitors early field position and the first points thanks to Upper Clutha first five-eighth Byron Clarke.
It wasn't long, however, before the locals found their groove and looked certain to strike back with the opening try, only to be denied by some determined Upper Clutha defence.
Perhaps a little frustrated, the Bulls threw a wild pass, which Upper Clutha speedster Wille Scurr pounced on and then bolted 80m to score.
It was a shaky start and being 0-8 down after 8 minutes wouldn't have been in the defending champion's script.
Nevertheless, the score hid the fact that Arrowtown looked the more likely of the two teams, was settling into its work and dictating play.
Arrowtown has built its reputation on an excellent kicking game backed up by a reliable line-out.
For some reason Upper Clutha was trying to play the same game plan and the ding-dong kicking duel was not working in its favour.
Arrowtown's Reece Winter more often than not finds the open spaces or the sideline with his kicks, and at the line-out, Jim O'Malley was in a class of his own.
With field position and mounting possession, points did eventually come and the hosts went into the break trailing 6-8.
The second spell started in much the same way as the first finished, Arrowtown with possession but unable to break the line.
Line breaks were at a premium as both defensive lines held strong and it was only through the boot of Winter that Arrowtown could turn possession and territory into points.
After 55 minutes of tight defence-orientated rugby, the game finally came alive, with Arrowtown shifting gear as it has done so often over the past two seasons.
First No 8 Daniel Iosefo and then Aidan Winter crashed over in a sublime two-minute period of utter dominance.
Both tries were converted from near the sideline in a 100% display from Reece Winter.
With Upper Clutha suddenly finding itself 23-8 behind, the aimless kicking boots were put away in favour of running rugby and that paid dividends when impressive fullback Ben Purvis scored an excellent try.
It was, however, too little too late and Arrowtown continued to dominate until the final whistle, winning the match 23-13.
With victory comes the spoils, and now Arrowtown can lay claim to dominating the Central Otago competition two years on the trot, and most importantly, will now have its name etched on one of the oldest trophies in New Zealand sporting history, the White Horse Cup.
It's not quite all over for the Bulls.
On Saturday, they play Lawrence in a Countrywide Championship game at Jack Reid Park.
Kick-off 2.45pm.
- Scott Stevens.
