One point in it: Hamilton Boys' take the Super 8 shield 13-12

Finals do not come much tighter than this one.

Hamilton Boys' High School are Super 8 champions again after edging Napier Boys' High School 13-12 in Hamilton on Saturday, in a final that came down to a single point and stayed in the balance until the last few minutes.

It was two tries each. The whole difference was a penalty goal against a conversion.

Napier struck first and then showed real character, surviving ten minutes of pressure before halftime while a player short, and still going to the break in front at 12-5. For a visiting side in a final, that takes some doing.

Hamilton's answer came through first five-eighth Jackson Botherway, who had the kind of afternoon young players remember for a long time. He scored all 13 of his team's points, two tries and a penalty goal from around 40 metres in the 55th minute. Hamilton took the lead for the only time in the match with 17 minutes left, and then had to defend it.

Napier very nearly had the last word. With six minutes on the clock they went within a whisker of a try that could have turned the whole thing around. It did not quite come, and the shield stayed in Hamilton.

Spare a thought for the Napier boys. Two yellow cards in a final is a hard way to play, and to lead at halftime a man down and still be within touching distance at the death says plenty about the team they have built this season. They will be back.

For Hamilton, it is the 15th time they have lifted the Super 8 shield since the competition for central North Island boys' schools began in 1997. That is a remarkable record in a competition that has never been short of good sides.

The Super 8 has a habit of producing finals like this. Two schools who know each other well, a full house, and a result that could have gone either way on any one of a dozen moments. Both sets of players can walk away proud of that one.