The Leopards on Saturday showed nerves of steel in the national Amateur Provincial Championship Final against the DHL Western Province Emerging team in Potchefstroom for a 33-30 victory and, with it, national amateur glory.

The Amateur Provincial Championship (APC) winners are crowned each year following a round-robin series between the winners of the Central, Southern and Northern Amateur Provincial competitions.

DHL WP were crowned the Southern Amateur Provincial Championship winners back in August, having beaten SWD by 13-7 in the final after earlier wins over an EP Invitational side (36-24) and Boland (30-12) in Humansdorp.

Saturday’s national final match, hosted at Profert Olën Park, was hard-fought from the outset as the teams threw everything at each other on attack and defence. Such were the small margins between the sides, the Leopards held a narrow 15-13 lead at the break.

The second half followed the same pattern as neither team gave an inch, which left the teams level at 30-30 with seconds left on the clock.

However, a late drop-goal by Leopards replacement scrumhalf Francois Nel secured the title for the home team.