Canterbury silence Lions' roar

Canterbury: Victory

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Canterbury clinched the Air New Zealand Cup with a 7-6 championship final victory over Wellington on Saturday.

A first half try by flanker Hayden Hopgood was the difference between the two sides in a rain soaked encounter at the Westpac Stadium.

Both sides were reluctant to take risks in the opening 15 minutes but, when Colin Slade was penalised for playing the ball from an off-side position a minute later, Piri Weepu struck Wellington's first points of the match.

But Canterbury soon edged in front after some brilliant interplay between the forwards and backs saw Hopgood crash over from close-range, with Slade adding the crucial extras.

After going into the break leading 7-3, Weepu closed the gap to a single point at the start of the second half with a 48th minute penalty.

But the Lions were unable to press home and blew several try-scoring opportunities through turn-over balls, scrappy scrums and balls thrown into touch.

As panic set in, coach Jamie Joseph piled on his reserves one by one but none could make an impact.

Wellington were handed a last chance scrum with just 30 seconds to go following a Richie McCaw knock-on.

But in a moment that summed up their evening, Canterbury huffed and puffed and shoved the Lions backwards.

With ball back in Canterbury's possession scrum-half Tyson Keats decided enough was enough and lofted it high into the stands to bring the season to a close.