Phil Gifford goes over the heroes and drama from the weekend's rugby including the Super Rugby star who in any other era would be an All Blacks bolter.
Who doesn't love a triumph against the odds?
The golden point 24-19 defeat of the Hurricanes by Moana Pasifika at Mt Smart Stadium was not only a victory for a young, raw team staying as composed and committed as battle-hardened veterans, but also an announcement that in years to come Super Rugby will have a new force.
Reaching halftime at 7-all, common sense said the lack of match play that had contributed to their second half slumps against the Crusaders and the Chiefs would defeat Moana. But as we all discovered, passion can overwhelm common sense. We saw the Moana players embodying the words of their board's vice-chairperson Debbie Sorenson, that "being able to provide a story of hope, which is the story of Moana Pasifika, is really important. It's more than just a game, we're creating futures for young men and eventually young women".
I believe we've seen a victory that can be compared to the stunning match in Cardiff in 1991, when Samoa upset Wales 19-16 at their first World Cup. Covid-19 restrictions meant just a handful of fans were at Mt Smart on Friday night. But when the Blues come to the Warriors' home ground on Tuesday night to play Moana, it'll pay to get there early to avoid the queues.
Blues wing Caleb Clarke has regained the form that made him an All Black sensation in 2020, a fact illustrated by the way he streaked past Mitch Hunt and Sam Gilbert on his way to a brilliant try nine minutes into the game in Dunedin.
But as good as Clarke was there was something almost magical about the way his right wing partner Mark Telea can somehow put on what seems to be a cloak of invisibility that leaves would be tacklers wondering how he dashed past them. It's Telea's misfortune to be playing in the most hotly contested position in New Zealand rugby. In many other eras he would bolt into the All Blacks.
Moana had many candidates for man of the match, but my pick was their No 8 Henry Time-Stowers.
Time-Stowers has had a nomadic rugby career, the game taking him from Wainuiomata to Rotorua to Perth, and now to Auckland. But he's found his emotional home at Moana, where the delight he exudes after making block-busting runs is obvious.
Most of the 8789 people at Waikato Stadium on Saturday night would have been disappointed that the Crusaders beat the Chiefs, 34-19. But if it was any consolation to fans from the Waikato, this was a game of Super Rugby grand final quality.
Chiefs captain Sam Cane continued his terrific form. Not once did he miss a tackle. And midfielder Alex Nankivell was like a rogue bull in the back paddock, making brutally effective metres every time he touched the ball, and scoring two tremendous tries.
But the Crusaders' talent pool and self-belief both run deep. With the Chiefs clinging on at just 15-12 down at the 57-minute mark, Sevu Reece produced a quicksilver solo run so perfectly angled attempted tacklers were left twisted like pretzels in their frantic efforts to change direction as Reece sailed past.
Five minutes later, Crusader centre Leicester Fainga'anuku, who like Nankivell was on fire all game, perfectly timed his run to be at top speed when he hit a pass near the Chiefs line to score. It was suddenly 29-12. Revenge was at hand after the Chiefs' great victory in Christchurch a fortnight ago.
It seems there is nothing that Crusader Will Jordan can't do on the rugby field. He can go from a standing start to top speed in a couple of paces, he's impeccable under the high ball, and sure on the tackle. And as a schoolboy cricket player at Christchurch Boys' High his First XI coach called an unbeaten century Jordan scored in 2015 as "one of the best schoolboy knocks" he'd seen.
But in Hamilton against the Chiefs he produced another terrific string to his sporting bow, by winning three turnovers at breakdowns, a job usually best left to the gnarly loose forwards like Tom Christie.
It was painful to watch Brodie Retallick having to leave the field injured in Hamilton, but the most traumatic viewing in the weekend was the sight in Dunedin of Beauden Barrett lying prone for what felt like an age after a 41st-minute head-on tackle of Highlanders centre Fetuli Paea went awry.
Barrett's struggle over summer with concussion after-effects has been well documented. Hopes for a trouble free return centred not only on the gifts he brings to the game, as he showed just before halftime with a searing sprint to a try in the Blues' 32-25 win over the Highlanders, but also on what he's like off the field. His decency and warmth remind me of the great Sir Brian Lochore. There can be no higher praise.