Blues 30 Chiefs 20
It's amazing what a rousing ending can do for a book, for a film and for a Super 14 campaign.
Like a stunning last day of summer, it can fool the mind into ignoring much, if not all, of the less convincing affair that has gone before.
So last
night's win for the Blues has to be kept in context. The Chiefs arrived with no form, no confidence and virtually no recognisable players.
There was plenty of pre-match talk of this being a full-blooded local derby; of none of the sting having been removed just because both sides were long extinct as championship contenders.
But really it was no such thing. For the Chiefs it was an 80-minute obligation they had to fulfil before they could scamper down the road and try to erase all memories of 2010. What was one more spanking to them? Even if it was to the Blues?
Failure to beat the Chiefs would have been disastrous for the Blues, but victory did not deliver absolution. It didn't re-write the last few months or change the fact that no one can really be sure whether there has been an improvement on 2009.
All victory did was leave the balance sheet of wins in the black - just - and send a capacity crowd home with a slightly higher chance of turning up again next year.
They probably will drift back, if for no other reason but to see how the redevelopment of the stadium has progressed. Or maybe the Blues have provided enough on the entertainment front to secure a following.
There's no doubt that while they haven't mastered the old-school part of winning most weeks, they have embraced the new philosophy of rugby as product and fans as consumers.
The Blues are the great entertainers - exactly the sort of razzle-dazzle side the game's administrators love as they try to put bums on seats and eyeballs on TV screens.
In Rene Ranger, the Blues have something truly compelling. He's nowhere near ready to be an All Black, but he manages to do things other players can't.
His shimmy and pass to set up Rudi Wulf's second try was glorious - as was the in-and-out finish from the wing. Ranger's ability to beat people was again priceless for the Blues and in time, he'll hopefully lose much of the erratic, impetuous stuff that blights his game.
For the moment, his propensity to make big errors is tolerated as part of the package - it's a sign of his inexperience. Forgiveness will be harder to come by next year.
For different reasons, the same will be true of Alby Mathewson and Stephen Brett, if the latter commits. Mathewson was once again the class act of the Blues backline.
His passes fizzed out of his hands and he scored a classic halfback try when he took the feed from a five-metre scrum and backed himself. He's set a high benchmark and the expectation is he must reach it or better it next season.
As for Brett, he's been fortunate to succeed a series of dud No10s, meaning he could hardly fail to have a positive impact. His performance against the Chiefs mirrored his season - largely accomplished but guilty of being a little wild and thoughtless at times. Certainly enough for reservations to remain about his suitability to lead the Blues to a title.
Those same reservations hang over the forward pack. They never managed to get fully on top of the Chiefs, yet the same group destroyed the Bulls earlier in the season.
That has been the story of the season - consistency has evaded them and victory against the Chiefs cannot obscure that.
Blues 30 (P. Williams, B. Stanley, A. Mathewson, R. Wulf 2 tries; S. Brett con, pen), Chiefs 20 (L. Messam, S. Tokula tries; T. Renata 2 cons, 2 pens).
