Cameron Millar is not built like most of us.
The Otago first five kicked the winning penalty to clinch a 44-41 win for Otago against Waikato in the quarterfinal at Forsyth Barr Stadium last night.
He was swamped by his team-mates a moment later.
It was some kick.
The goal posts were 50 or so metres away on the angle. The touchline was 10m to his left.
He was tired.
It had been a crazy game.
Otago had scored six tries and led 38-22 at one stage.
Waikato had scored six tries and had roared back to level the score 41-41.
But they made a late high tackle and up stepped Millar with a really tough kick ahead of him.
Nerves? Nah.
"Weirdly in the moment, you’re not," Millar said.
"Mitch Scott, he ran on the tee for me, and just told me, you know, I’ve trained all my life for this moment.
"And just to back myself, trust my process.
"So, that’s what I did and, yeah, lucky enough to get it over."
He has played every minute of every game for Otago this season. And it had been a frenetic match.
"Yeah, in the 80th minute, it was definitely at the edge of my range.
"I was a wee bit worried that I might not have the legs, just because the lungs and the body was quite heavy.
"But, yeah, I think I just scraped it over."
It has been quite a week for the 23-year-old.
He has been steadily improving throughout the campaign. But until his 24-point haul against Auckland in round 10, he arguably had not had a standout performance.
And news broke earlier this week that the Highlanders have signed Taranaki first five Josh Jacomb on a two-year deal from 2027.
Millar will have some fresh competition for that Highlanders No 10 jersey.
Based on last night’s performance, the Highlanders are going to have some selection headaches.
