Marist 31 Carterton 29 Hayden Cooper held his nerve and kicked a clutch penalty with time up on the clock to snatch a thrilling victory over two-time defending champions Carterton on Thursday night. The young winger had already impressed during the game with two outstanding tries and a faultless goalkicking display when referee Alistair Payne awarded Marist a penalty 18m out on a slight angle after their pack smashed the opposition scrum. Cooper was cool as a cucumber as he slotted the winning goal for a personal haul of 21 points and saluted the good band of supporters who had turned out on the chilly night.
“I’ve been waiting for a moment like that at this level in the three years I’ve been in here, so when we got that penalty, I was ready to take it and give it my best shot,” the modest winger said. The penalty topped a superb night for Cooper, who, in addition to being faultless off the tee, scored two tries: one where he pulled off a well-timed intercept inside the Carterton 22 and crossed untouched and the second where he ran a beautiful line back on the angle to score under the posts, although he was quick to credit his teammates. “It all comes down to the boys; they’re getting me in those spots, and I just do my bit and execute in scoring and getting my kicks over and making them count,” but he also admitted to preparing for intercepts, which paid off.
“I’ve been practising making those really hard decisions on the defensive side, especially on that .
