Beauden Barrett taking off to score a 65m try after an intercept near halftime of the Hurricanes vs Crusaders clash in Waverley on Friday.
Everybody came away from the sold-out Dallison Park with something that they wanted from the Farmlands Grassroots Game Day in Waverley on Friday evening.
With 'home' side the Hurricanes and the visiting Crusaders fielding virtually all of their stars for what amounted to two 40 minute games against separate XV's, opposing coaches Chris Boyd and Scott Robertson were able to confirm their regular starters should be the form players to begin the Super Rugby campaign this coming weekend.
The Crusaders led 27-19 at halftime for this very reason, as All Black locks Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett were able to pull down plenty of extra possession for lineout steals off Hurricanes' Mark Abott and Isaia Walker-Leawere, while hooker Ben Funnell was driven over for a quick reply to the Hurricanes opening try.
The Cantabrians also rode domination in the scrum to a platform where young first-five Richie Mounga, the only player tapped to start both halves, gave an excellent probing performance - setting the table for powerhouse winger Seta Tamanivalu to smash his way over for a hat trick.
Mounga's only flaw in a great opening 40 minutes was goal kicking, with just one success given most of the Crusader tries were on the corner chalk.
The Hurricanes relied more on individual flashes and it was here the crowd favourite Barrett brothers bookended the half with some exciting touches.
Debuting fullback Jordie, the only participant to have played in Waverley, set up winger Wes Goosen for a fine double - first with great overhead pass to put him over in the corner, then stabbing through a grubber kick which Goosen deftly controlled in his dive to narrow the Crusaders lead.
Goosen's joy was short lived as the visitors immediately hit back down his sideline with Mounga helping lay on tries to Tamanivalu and All Black Israel Dagg.
Yet Beauden Barrett stole back some of that momentum and set the crowd alight by snatching an intercept to race 65m untouched and give the second half squad a boost by narrowing their starting deficit to 27-19.
Waverley, which at that point had provided the players with overcast and muggy conditions without wind, now decided to switch the seasons by allowing a brief ray of sunshine before bringing down the pouring rain to change the matchplay scenarios yet again.
Having brought on their big guns in Julian Savea, whose brother Ardie covered the first half, as well as TJ Perenara, Cory Jane and Nehe Milner-Skudder, the Hurricanes had more direction as the pace had to slow down in the conditions, while the Crusaders notably kept up a steady rotation of their wider bench reserves.
A Milner-Skudder try off new first-five Otere Black's breakout run narrowed the gap to a point, although Boyd was left with a frown as his returning All Black immediately came off with a tweaked hamstring.
The Hurricanes defence and set piece also strengthened, and after sustained buildup where they were twice held up over the line, looming second-five Ngani Laumape surged off a crisp Perenara pass to smash his way over for the converted try with less than five minutes left.
It was enough to send the packed-in supporters - who had bathed the small country ground in yellow and black paraphernalia - off home happy as the Hurricanes defended their line to secure the win.
It had been a game that saw all four seasons of weather and therefore a variety of rugby from open-running to trench warfare.
Given the Crusaders had lost this preseason match in bizarre circumstances through an 80-point hiding 12 months ago, Robertson was quite content to have shared a half each and keep a little momentum for the trip to Canberra to play the Brumbies on Week 1 of competition proper.
"We get hiding and a lot of injuries, you come out of preseason disadvantaged.
"It was a really good first half performance and we showed we cared on defence.
"In essence it gave us everything we needed.
"Got all the boys through with no injury issues, [and] it showed we got our attack right.
"We lost our rhythm in the second half."
If there was one bolter to put his hand up it was Mounga.
"It's his second year of Super Rugby. He's a quality young player, a great athlete, and he's coming of age."
Boyd would agree with his opposite that the intangibles were more important than the result.
"We got through some stuff, we tweaked at times, got some refresh and composure. The scoreline is irrelevant," he said.
"If you looked at what was out there on paper, they probably had more of their starters in the first half, and we had more in the second half.
"We were happy to stay pretty close [at halftime]."
Boyd was not unduly concerned with the set piece issues of the first half, as his first-stringers covered off those deficits in the next 40 minutes.
"That scrum, [prop] Ben May had to move from tighthead to loosehead for the first time in three years.
"I'm pleased, we had no territory for a long period of time [then] we finally managed to get some territory and converted it into points."
Jordie Barrett also put his hand up to be among the 25 players who will go to Tokyo to play the Sunwolves, possibly more as midfield cover rather than fullback, as the No12-13 spots are one area Boyd has yet to finalise.
"We got no rock stars in that place, so I expect all the squad to deliver."
The coach also had kind words for the true winners on the day, the rural fans from South Taranaki and surrounding areas who got to see the stars from television in their home town, where despite the rain they queued to have photos and autographs with the players in front of the grandstand.
The ground had been immaculate for professional-level rugby and held up despite the conditions for another successful preseason promotion.
"I just think the guys here have done a wonderful job and we're proud to work in with the Border Rugby Club," said Boyd.
"You see here, what is the norm for the big smoke is the treat for the Heartland."
Hurricanes 33 (Wes Goosen 2, Beauden Barrett, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Ngani Laumape tries; Barrett 2 con, Otere Black 2 con) bt Crusaders 27 (Seta Tamanivalu 3, Ben Funnell, Israel Dagg tries, Richie Mounga con). HT: 27-19 Crusaders.