Hard graft and mathematics have booked Steelform Wanganui a Meads Cup semifinal for the third consecutive year.
There was much consulting of the rulebook and many back-of-the-envelope calculations going on around the country on Saturday evening as the Mitre 10 Heartland Championship round robin wrapped up in dramatic fashion.
The upshot is Wanganui are off to Timaru this Saturday to take on South Canterbury as they seek a title three-peat.
Wanganui turned up to Cooks Gardens sitting fifth, one spot outside the playoffs, with their Meads Cup hopes hanging by a thread.
By the time they walked off - having ground out a 10-6 win over North Otago - the situation was no clearer as they were unable to get the bonus point they needed.
However, a few hours later they learned they had done enough despite themselves, Mid Canterbury and West Coast finishing tied on 26 points for the final playoff spot.
Earlier, Mid Canterbury's 43-38 win over King Country in Taupo had elevated them to be equal on points with Wanganui and they were set to go through by virtue of winning the round-robin game between the two sides.
But there was still one game still in progress in Masterton, and once West Coast managed the pick up the full five points against Wairarapa Bush, a three-way tie for fourth meant points differential was brought in to separate the teams.
It was relief for Wanganui, whose frustrating performance had taken matter out of their own hands.
But coach Jason Caskey said he couldn't fault his players, given the squad was missing some key experience.
"We wanted to score four tries but things didn't go our way and we made some basic errors that let us down," he said.
"In the end they did what we asked. We asked them to stand up and be counted today. There was a lot of pressure on guys to run the ship in the middle."
Tremaine Gilbert scored the game's only try, breaking the North Otago line as he ran on to a Dane Whale pass.
That 10th-minute try came on the back of the first period of sustained pressure Wanganui had managed to put North Otago under.
But it didn't settle Wanganui who were plagued by poor passing, dropped ball and too many turnovers at set-piece.
If Wanganui struggled to find any rhythm on attack, at least their defence held firm.
The 7-3 lead created by Gilbert's try remained for the next 45 minutes as the two sides were locked in an arm wrestle.
Winger Cameron Crowley was yellow-carded just before halftime for a deliberate knock-down but the visitors were still unable to make inroads with the one-man advantage.
As the final quarter approached Josh Buchan slotted his second penalty to reduce the margin to one, and could have edged North Otago ahead but for a missed penalty and dropped goal in the closing stages.
Instead it was Wanganui's Nick Harding who landed a late penalty to seal the win.
Post-match and still unsure if Wanganui had done enough, co-coach Jason Caskey was pleased Wanganui was able to grind out a win.
"They had to work really hard and things didn't really go our way. It was far from a beautiful flowing game of rugby but they kept fighting together and they held on to probably a real gutsy win," he said.
"What we asked before the game was for everybody to show courage and we knew things weren't going to be easy because we lost a bit of experience with some key players as well.
"We just said to the rest of the boys 'it's time to step up and show intent and play as a team rather than as individuals'."
The match was also a debut for Kaierau's Ethan Robinson who impressed with 20 minutes on the park.
"He's a talented boy. It'll be the first of many I imagine," Caskey said.
Wanganui now face the tough trip to Timaru for the second time this year, having gone down to the Cantabrians 21-17 in September.
But does Caskey think it's doable?
"Yep, no question," he said. "It's about having the belief and I think today would have given them the belief they can actually perform. It's about growing and I think they'll grow from this."
Scoreboard
* Wanganui 10 (Tremaine Gilbert try; Nick Harding con, pen) North Otago 6 (Josh Buchan 2 pen).