A last gasp try saw Amoa College emerge victorious over St Joseph's College in the finals of the Under 18 BSP National Schools Rugby Championship by 18-17.

The boys from Savai'i had every reason to be proud of their achievement, with the school principal Faamoetauloa Sau Salaivao Talagafa expressing his happiness.

"I'm feeling really happy, especially because schools from Savai'i don't really have a large roll count," said Faamoetauloa.  Amoa College has a total roll of 260 students and brought a team of just over 20 boys. 

"This is our first time winning in Upolu, second time in Savai’i,” added Faamoetauloa.

Inside centre Otineru Ualesi of Saipipi, was proud of the efforts his team put into winning, especially in the last minute. "The overall game was good even though there were minor errors from our side, but we rushed through,” said Ualesi.

Ualesi also spoke about the challenges that came with competing against a team on their home turf, such as the home crowd cheering and the sea of blue uniforms that were obvious from the field. 

"Winning in the last minute was a surreal moment, no one in our team thought we could do it - but we did," said Ualesi. 

However, Ualesi expressed disappointment with the way the supporters of St Joseph's reacted during the game. 

"The St Joseph's boys did really well during the game, but it was disappointing to see the way the supporters reacted," added Ualesi.

Head Coach Iosefa Fili Tiliga of Salelavalu was also very pleased with the outcome and the push from the team and the wider support from the families, friends, and crowd who had supported Amoa. 

"Firstly, the praise goes to the Lord above. Everyone saw how hard the game was," said Tiliga.

He said the boys had given their all on the field. 

"The real meaning of the sport is to bring boys together because they love the sport, but today that was not the case," said Tiliga. 

"The discipline shown by the host school showed that they cared more about winning, but the ball was in our favour.”

Tiliga also disagreed with those who doubted the referees' capabilities to ref the games and suggested that the fields should be fenced to stop supporters from rushing into the players while on the field. 

"If our team had lost, we would've humbly accepted the loss. Whatever referee refs the game, they are in charge of the game and no one else - that is how I discipline my boys - to always listen to the ref regardless of the outcome," said Tiliga.