You will not find two more enthusiastic and loyal Otago rugby fans.
They will always support Otago, but this year they have been joined by a heap of others.
The cast of 2025 have captured the imagination of the public with their exciting brand of rugby.
Otago have won seven in a row to make it through to Saturday’s final against Canterbury in Christchurch. The teams met in round eight and Otago wrestled the Ranfurly Shield from them in an epic try-fest.
The excitement has been building ever since and reached a fever pitch during the tense 44-41 win over Waikato in the quarterfinal in Dunedin.
The semifinal against the Bay of Plenty proved easier going. Otago scored either side of halftime to set up a comfortable 41-17 win.
The pace of that game melted the flux capacitor and altered the space-time continuum — Google it.
Otago played in a fearless style reminiscent of Gilbert’s 1998 side, which was stacked with All Blacks.
"Well, they do," Gilbert agreed.
"But like all the good Otago sides, they’ve just moulded themselves together.
"They’re obviously enjoying their rugby as well."
Gilbert and former All Black Ben Smith spoke at the team announcement on Monday.
"I didn’t have any words of advice. I just said hello and a couple of little things, and Ben Smith did the rest. He was terrific."
Gilbert said his memories from the 1998 campaign had faded.
But that season is widely considered one of the more entertaining in NPC history, and Otago took the spotlight.
Otago boasted a back three of Jeff Wilson, Brendan Laney and Romi Ropati.
All Blacks trio Kees Meeuws, Carl Hoeft and Anton Oliver supplied the muscle up front.
Flankers Josh Kronfeld and Taine Randell complemented the power Isitolo Maka delivered from the back of the scrum.
Tony Brown and John Leslie steered the team around.
Otago won seven of their nine round-robin games before demolishing Taranaki 61-12 in the semifinal and brushing aside Waikato 49-20 in front of 40,000 fans in the final at Carisbrook.
The rugby landscape has changed since the late 1990s. That calibre of player is seldom spotted lacing up their boots to play in the NPC now.
But no matter how good the athletes are, the connections have to be just as strong, and that has not changed, Gilbert said.
"These guys have got better and better.
"I can’t put a finger on it, but you’d have to say that [coach Mark] Brown has drawn them all together and he’s got his coaching group working so well together.
"The players have responded to that and they’ve grown into their leadership roles.
"That’s really showing now because once you’re on the field playing, the coaches can’t do the job — it’s the players.
Latta was a key member of the first Otago side to win the NPC title.
The 1991 campaign was the last season before a playoff structure was introduced.
Otago got a fright early on. They were edged 24-22 by Counties-Manukau in round two in Pukekohe. But they bounced back with comfortable wins over Taranaki and Canterbury.
The 17-6 win over Auckland in Dunedin proved decisive.
It was Auckland’s only loss. Otago still had to win their last two games against Wellington and North Harbour to seize the title.
"A lot of those games are just a blur now," Latta said.
"But I remember we played Counties early on in the season, and we lost to them and it was sort of a bit of a turning point, really. A bit of soul-searching was done after that.
"We just pretty much threw caution to the wind, had a bit of a go. We had some pretty talented players back then."
Latta can see comparisons between his lot and today’s side, whose wake-up call arguably came in round two as well.
Their discipline was poor early and Hawke’s Bay got out to a 17-0 lead and eventually won 27-21. Tasman got them late in round five, but Otago have not lost since.
"We had a good combination of older and younger guys and I think that is what this team has today.
"I’m confident that if these guys go out and play the way they’ve been playing and do everything they can do, I think they’ll win.
"I really believe that. And that’s taking nothing away from Canterbury. They’re a good side too."
National championship
For the record
Otago have won the NPC just twice in 50 seasons — once in 1991 and again in 1998.
1991
Record: Played 10, won 9, lost 1.
Key win: Beat Auckland 17-6 at Carisbrook
• Fullback Greg Cooper was the competition’s leading scorer with 150 points. He also shared the top spot for tries scored with three others. He dotted down seven times.
• Otago scored 40 tries, two more than their closest rival.
• Otago scored 298 points (second most) and had the stingiest defence, conceding just 119 points.
1998
Record: Played 11, won 9, lost 2.
Key win: Blitzed Waikato 49-20 in the final.
• Otago scored the most tries (67, including 16 in the semifinal and final).
• Otago scored the most points. Their tally of 521 remains a season record for the competition.
• First five Tony Brown was the competition’s leading scorer with 196 points. It remains a season record for the competition.
• Brendan Laney scored a season-high 15 tries. He shares the all-time season record with Auckland’s Terry Wright (1984).
