The midfield back was badly off target in the semifinal but kicked four second-half goals to lead Taieri to a 12-6 win over Harbour in the Dunedin club final at Carisbrook on Saturday.
When first-choice Taieri kicker Andrew Reid broke down near the end of the first spell, Nowell was thrust back into the role.
In the semifinal, Nowell's success rate was 50%. In the final, he missed only one of his five attempts for an 80% success rate.
"I used last week to get my radar right," Nowell said.
Nowell (25), a sheep and beef farmer at Outram, honed his kicking skills when playing rugby in Japan for the past two years.
"We didn't play much there and I had time to practise," he said.
Nowell grew up on a farm near Kurow and played for the Otago Boys' High School First XV in 2002-03.
He then studied in Christchurch and played for the Christchurch club for four years. He was a member of the Canterbury squad for three years.
"I've given away professional rugby to go farming," he said.
The win by Taieri was only the second premier championship win in its long history. It shared the banner with University A in 1955.
The win completed a remarkable ride by the Taieri club since it regained premier status by beating University B 42-17 in the promotion-relegation game in 2008.
The club had been out of premier ranks from 2001 to 2008. Its fortunes have changed dramatically since then and it finished eighth in its first year in 2009 and fifth last year, and won the banner this year.
Since its return to premier ranks, the club has rejuvenated Dunedin club rugby by having the best fan base of any club.
This was demonstrated at Carisbrook on Saturday when 4000 spectators from the Taieri and Harbour clubs were at Carisbrook to watch the final.
The crowd included eight surviving members of the Taieri team that won the banner in 1955.
It was the first premier banner for co-coach Phil Young in his long coaching career.
"We set our goals at the beginning of February and the players bought into our game plan and had belief in it," he said.
"We worked hard in our pre-season training and the players have been rewarded."
Young and Graeme Anderson played together in the Southland team in the late 1970s and brought a down to earth approach to the Taieri team this year.
"It's a proud day for the club," Anderson said. "We've come a long way in the last two years."