They did it! It may have been by the skin of their teeth at times, but Wanganui's Butcher's Boys have carved off a slice of history.
A third successive Meads Cup triumph puts them into uncharted territory, and a huge contingent of fans made the 100-kilometre trek to Levin Domainon Saturday to watch them do it.
Among them was mayor Hamish McDouall, more commonly thought of as a football and cricket buff.
As he said before Saturday's final against Horowhenua-Kapiti, Whanganui takes a great deal of pride from the exploits of its representative rugby team - a pride also felt by non-rugby folk.
The mayor also mentioned gloating over neighbours, but we should be magnanimous in victory and simply say Horowhenua-Kapiti did well to make the final, including a round-robin win over our boys on the way.
That was one of three defeats suffered by the usually imperious Wanganui this season and it left their qualification for the knockout stages on a knife edge.
In the end, it was maths and a calculator that got them into the semifinals - points differential coming to the rescue at the eleventh hour.
And so the team found themselves heading to Timaru and a match-up with South Canterbury in the unusual position of being the underdogs.
But the Butcher's Boys have made a habit of finding something extra in the face of adversity, and those who had written them off were made to eat their words with a gritty win against the favourites.
And so to Saturday and the Meads Cup final - and, again, they had to travel to face opponents on their home turf.
But Wanganui know all about the big occasions and how to rise to them, and a 30-14 victory means Pinetree's trophy is back where it belongs.
