South Canterbury have erased a hat-trick of near misses by claiming rugby's Lochore Cup with a 17-10 victory over Buller in the final in Timaru.
In a replay of last year's title decider, South Canterbury gained revenge over the defending champions with fullback Liam Edwards scoring all their points via a try and four penalties.
Buller also got a try, through inside-centre Pene Nabainivalu, and the result was in doubt until Edwards landed his last goal with just over a minute to play.
Since the inception of the Heartland Championship in 2006, South Canterbury had played in three previous finals in the second-tier Lochore Cup without success.