Taieri turned on a stunning display of 15-man rugby to secure the inaugural Speight's Challenge Trophy in the combined Metropolitan Division 2 and North Otago competition on Saturday.
In scoring the 41-16 victory over Dunedin in the curtain-raiser at Carisbrook, Taieri played a style of rugby that was refreshing to witness, with players secure under the high ball and displaying a level of teamwork to which Dunedin did not have an answer.
Winning the combined competition with North Otago clubs has helped set up next weekend for Taieri as it celebrates its 125th jubilee.
The win also served as a belated 21st birthday gift for openside flanker Jeremy Corlis, who turned in a man-of-the-match performance.
Corlis, the subject of a Happy Birthday chorus after the game, was inspirational around the field, scoring two sensational tries.
His first came after a run of 40m as he fended and sliced through the Dunedin defence.
His second also had class stamped all over it as he gathered in loose ball at the back of the line-out and turned on the speed to dart 30m through the Dunedin inside defence, making the scoring appear easy.
Shane Crossan posed a threat from second five-eighth, scoring a sensational 80m runaway try when he intercepted the ball under the shadows of his own goal posts after 20 minutes.
He featured again 10min later with another intercept from a similar position, only to offload to wing Todd Ford, who sprinted 70m to score the first of his two tries.
Ford's second try was just as sensational.
It resulted from an 80min commitment from the Taieri backline; as the ball was moved through the Dunedin backs it spilled forward, Todd then gathered it in and sprinted 65m for the try.
Taieri 41 (Jeremy Corlis 2, Todd Ford 2, Shane Crossan, Jake Bennett, tries; Matt Hogan 1 penalty, 4 conversions), Dunedin 16 (Sam Baker try, Ben Young conversion, 3 penalties).
Half-time: 29-0.
