KEY POINTS:
Waikato 52
North Harbour 7
Tucked away in the grandstand at North Harbour Stadium, no doubt taking in every detail of Waikato's storming Ranfurly Shield performance over North Harbour, was the coaching mastermind of Canterbury and Crusaders rugby Robbie Deans.
Which was a reminder that once Mooloo euphoria
over the rout of Harbour has subsided they must prepare for the challenge from a union with a shield history second only to Auckland's.
Deans may have been at Albany to sound out Waikato's own master coach, Warren Gatland, to see whether he's interested in forming a partnership for next year, either with the Wallabies or, depending on what happens at the World Cup, the All Blacks.
More likely, even though he's not directly involved with Canterbury's provincial team, it was a "scouting" mission for next weekend, now the provincial season's biggest match.
As Waikato's captain Tom Willis, when reminded of the showdown, observed: "We couldn't ask for a tougher challenge first up."
Yet neither Gatland nor many of his players appear to be fazed by the prospect of facing a union whose shield pedigree could mean Waikato's latest reign could equal Wellington's in 1963 as one of the shortest.
And there was support, albeit qualified, for Waikato retaining the shield, from Harbour's coach, Wayne Pivac. "Waikato will be very difficult. They have a great shield history and they're playing at home. But Canterbury are a good side, too. It will be one hell of a match."
Gatland observed that often a tough first challenge was not necessarily a bad thing and he clearly expected adrenalin would pump for Waikato next week as much as it had at Albany.
He found a precedent in Waikato's 1993 shield win over Auckland, which was followed by successful defence a week later against a then-strong Otago.
One of the heroes of Saturday night, veteran openside flanker Marty Holah, was also full of optimism. "Regardless of whether we had the shield we were looking at the Canterbury game as being crucial in the Air New Zealand Cup."
Picking a star performer from Waikato's players on Saturday would be akin to asking a small boy to choose his favourite lolly at a sweet shop. So complete was the display, and so full of commitment, there would be any number of candidates.
No one would argue with Gatland's assessment that No 8 Liam Messam and first five-eighths Stephen Donald, who contributed 22 points and didn't miss a goal all night, had been outstanding. Holah described Messam as "the loose forward of the future" and marvelled at his range of skills.
And despite the rise of another Canterbury prodigy, Stephen Brett, Donald might now be the first summoned should any misfortune befall one of the All Black five-eighths in France.
Equally significant, too, to the Waikato cause were the tight five leadership of Willis, Holah and the other flanker Steven Bates, who scored two tries. Holah's effort was another to bring a tribute from Gatland, particularly after he had been down a fortnight ago after being outplayed by Auckland's Daniel Braid.
Holah, having played in the last two years of Waikato's last reign in 1999-2000, was rapt to be finally in a shield-winning side and was determined to climax his stint with the province, before heading off to Wales, at the season's end, as still the holders.
As the team's senior pro, Holah was delighted with the contributions of some of the younger players, such as halfback David Bason and wing James Kamana.
Bason, 20, started the year as Waikato's number four halfback and Kamana, 22, who hails from Tokoroa, was having his first start in a representative match.
Both set Waikato on their first-half scoring spree with Bason making the break which gave Kamana his try, while Kamana, with a clever pass later in the spell, created one of Bates' try.
Bason was highly motivated by a special videotape showing some of Waikato's previous shield and NPC triumphs. "It gave me goose bumps," Bason said.
