Maheno School proves small can still be mighty, after winning a rugby competition last week.

Several of the rural school’s senior room, and a few middle-room pupils entered a competition to design a rugby jersey for the Otago NPC team.

Their efforts won them 25 tickets to see Otago play Canterbury at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday, as well as the chance to form the guard of honour for players as they ran onto the field.

The teacher behind the entry, Phil Richardson, believes Maheno won due to the number of entries they submitted and the high standard of entries.

Two that were shared on the school’s Facebook page were just a sample of the entries.

A sample of the competition entries Maheno School submitted. Photo: Facebook

Unfortunately for Otago, Maheno pupils weren’t the lucky charm they hoped, with Canterbury taking the game 34-16. 

The result didn't put a dampener on the occasion for the children, though.

One pupil, Charlotte McNally, said she was proud to represent her school. 

“Going onto the field and holding the flags for the guard of honour was amazing as we got to see all the players up really close,” she said.

Paddy Stanger’s favourite part was going back onto the field at the end of the game and getting autographs.

 “I loved getting to do this with my best friends from school, that made it even more special,” he said. 

“Yay Maheno, a small, mighty school doing big, amazing things,” said one parent online.

Maheno School pupils reaping the rewards of their efforts. Photo: supplied