unthinkable." Gordon Hunter lamented that "the final nail was a very cruel call. With both front rows standing, there is no way the penalty try should have gone through." Referee Colin Hawke admitted in 2020 that he probably should not have awarded the penalty try to Auckland that decided the game. He says that "I could have re-set that scrum.'' He did not have the benefit of video replays or Television Match Officials (TMOs). The whistle from this game was auctioned off and fetched $2500. It now resides in the Mornington Tavern, Dunedin. 1997 British tour Otago toured Great Britain in 1997 playing seven games. They won all the games defeating Cambridge University 47-23; London Irish 82-14; Scottish Development XV 44-19, England A 42-15, Bath 31-18 Northampton/Leicester 37-8 and Richmond 75-0. 1998 National Provincial Championship Victory Otago had a very strong team in 1998 with 13 players who were present or future All Blacks. The front row of Carl Hoeft, Anton Oliver and Kees Meeuws dominated the scrums, Tony Brown scored 196 points and Brendan Laney scored 15 tries during the season. Otago defeated Wellington 84-10, Northland 82-10, Southland 60-10 and North Harbour 39-8 in the round robin stage, and beat Taranaki 62-12 in the semi-finals. The Otago team coached by Tony Gilbert and captained by Taine Randell won the 1998 National Provincial Championship final with a resounding victory over Waikato at Carisbrook. Taine Randell won the toss and elected to play the first half into the strong wind. Isotola Maka had to leave the field after 13 minutes with a hamstring injury and then Josh Kronfeld went off after 30 minutes with a shoulder injury. Otago led 10-6 at half time. Brendan Laney scored three times in the second half and Byron Kelleher one. Otago scored seven tries in their 49-20 victory. The 40,000 strong crowd cheered on the Otago team singing We are the Champions at one point. John Leslie, playing his last game for Otago was carried on the shoulders of his team mates at the end of the game. Jeff Wilson commented that holding the NPC trophy "was one of the most satisfying moments of my rugby life". Anton Oliver said of the team: "I can't recall, before or since, having played with a pack that was regularly as efficient, skilled and ruthless all round. And our backs were also skilled and penetrative all year...crucially our