Most premier rugby coaches are concerned with revving their teams up so they produce a high-quality performance. Upper Clutha coach Mark Evans applied the opposite philosophy in Wānaka on Saturday, calming his players down when they trailed 7-5 at halftime against Wakatipu in the Central Otago club final. They eventually won an enthralling contest 17-14. “They were over-hyped in that first half, and made too many mistakes” Evans said. “I worked on calming them down, getting them to resort to the game plan. Thank goodness it came through in the second half.” Tries to Scottish lock Andrew Horne, one of the standout players throughout the season, and halfback Joshua Cook in the fifth and 10th minutes of the second half, gave Upper Clutha a 17-7 advantage that Wakatipu could not overhaul. Upper Clutha made uncharacteristic handling mistakes repeatedly in the first half, but they performed up to their champion status in the second spell. Wakatipu produced a stunning try to young winger Harry Walker-Leach in the 15th minute and several times threatened to score again, but poor finishing against resilient defence, and a botched close-range penalty attempt, stranded them on seven points until the 78th minute when lock Joe Tingle scored. It was too little, too late, Upper Clutha hanging on to win by three points. The Rams became Central Otago champions for the third consecutive season, winning 13 of their 14 games, as in 2024 and 2025.This year, they conceded just 16 tries, a remarkable achievement. They also retained the much-prized White Horse Cup. As a bonus, eight Upper Clutha players have been named in the Otago Country premier representative squad. Besides try-scorers Horne and Cook, standout performers for Upper Clutha were flankers Jimmy Moore and, as always, co-captain Lachie Garrick and No 8 Jake Burtenshaw, while the scrum achieved an important edge after halftime. Wakatipu can take heart from a heroic display, but as in their two other clashes this season with Upper Clutha, which both ended in 13-8 losses, they were not able to add the important finishing touches at critical moments. Coach Tom Cunningham can take heart from the progress his team made throughout 2026 and look forward to next season with confidence. The game attracted close to 1000 spectators and was played in sunny conditions.
