Harbour fullback Luca Fuller kicks ahead of Kaikorai defender Stanley McClure during the Dunedin club rugby final at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON For a hot second, it looked like Kaikorai co-captain Lucas Casey might score a third try in the corner and put Harbour under even more pressure. The Hawks had burnt a good chunk of their 31-9 first-half lead and they were flagging. But they leaned on their set pieces to get them out of trouble and held on to win the Dunedin division 1 final 41-35 at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It was the club’s second title, but the first one they did not have to share. They drew 30-30 with University in 2018. This time, they did not have to take turns celebrating. Someone quickly whipped together a banner reading “Miln is Money’’. He certainly was. Harbour first five Rique Miln scored two tries, kicked four conversions and landed an important late penalty that pushed the game just beyond reach for Kaikorai. Winger Wiremu Brailey provided the initial spark. Kaikorai dominated the first quarter of the game with one exception. Brailey got free on the outside and found the Ferrari gear. The cover defence got across, so he flicked a pass infield. It got knocked down but fell nicely for Brailey. This time, the defenders were left in his wake. The Harbour half of the crowd of 4000 or so erupted in joy. Behemoth Highlanders tighthead prop and good Hawks man Saula Ma’u took route one to get the ball over the chalk, and co-captain Taylor Dale skipped over out wide. Harbour had all the momentum and pulled further ahead with a fourth try then a fifth, both scored by Miln. He chipped ahead and hared after it. Kaikorai first five Xavier Small fumbled the ball a metre from the line and Miln pounced. And, just before the break, Brailey set the turf on fire with another scorching run. He swung right, sprinted down the touchline, and found fellow winger Peni Havea, who got the ball to Miln, who had popped up in support. The game looked done at halftime. But no-one could tackle Casey. He powered over in the left corner from 10m out. The Hawks responded immediately. Co-captain Viliami Lea finished off a tremendous team try with a powerful run from 20m out. The game looked over again. Casey had other ideas. He lined up the corner flag from 25m out and palmed off the last defender. He is some player. Moments later, he threatened to do it all again, but this time from 45m out. He bumped off two, but Miln made a desperate tackle in the corner and dragged Casey’s foot into touch. Harbour coach Ewan Brumwell was getting a little nervous at that point. “I was sort of starting to pull out my hair a wee bit there,’’ Brumwell said. “A few missed tackles, especially on Lucas. He’s a big game player and we know we had to shut those boys down. “We probably just didn’t quite come out in that second half firing. “But we managed to not let it get to us and leak another few tries, which would have had the scoreline go a different way.” Harbour were clearly rattled, though. They tried to run it out from close to their own line. Kaikorai swung back on to attack and elusive winger Jake Hill went over in Casey’s corner. Kaikorai had cut the lead to 10 and it almost felt like a standing 10 count for Harbour. They were out on their feet. At that moment, Charlie Breen suffered a terrible accident. The dangerous fullback went down in a tackle and the game was delayed for 10-15 minutes. Kaikorai coach Monty Mitchell said Breen suffered a “pretty ugly” leg break. “Our thoughts are with him, obviously,” Mitchell said. “He’s been an awesome part of our group. He was coming into his own. The game was opening up for him. “Injuries are part of the game, and we don’t want to see them, but … I think they were able to regroup and their big boys could get a second wind. “We still put them under a lot of pressure. But they held on and they took their moments when they needed to, so yeah, fair play.” Kaikorai scored late through Slade McDowall, but moments earlier Miln had kicked an important penalty to effectively seal the win. Harbour lost the final to Kaikorai 46-41 last year, so the win was extra sweet. adrian.seconi@odt.co.nz Dunedin division 1 final The scores Harbour 41 Rique Miln 2, Wiremu Brailey, Saula Ma’u, Taylor Dale, Viliami Lea tries; Miln 4 con, pen Kaikorai 35 Lucas Casey 2, Jake Hill, Slade McDowall tries; Xavier Small 3 con, 3 pen Halftime: Harbour 31-9.
