It goes without saying the team works hard, is dedicated and motivated to defend the trophy it won last season.
But it is those touches of individual brilliance which has elevated University ahead of all others.
It does not seem to matter if the scrum has been back-pedalling most of the game, or the team has been defending for the past 10 minutes, the student backline remains a constant threat.
Whether it is pivot Fletcher Smith throwing a dummy and gliding through a gap, or Shae Tucker bumping off a tackle and getting it wide to Gavin Stark to provide the quality finish, there is seemingly always someone waiting to break the game open.
University is just good and it knows it. What that understanding does for a side is it builds resilience.
When the students found themselves trailing Harbour 22-7 midway through the second spell last weekend, no-one suddenly needed a drop of rescue remedy.
Coach Rahul Das was in no hurry to head to the panic room, either.
"You've got to be able to adapt to what is happening in the game,'' Das said.
"There is a certain calmness and confidence to the boys this year which helps us not waste energy by thinking about what has happened but what we need to do to fix it.''
And fix it they did.
The students scored three tries during a 10-minute period and eventually won 26-22.
The game was perhaps a micro summary of University's season, in a way.
While it is unbeaten since losing to Taieri in round two, it has had to work hard against the teams with the bigger packs such as Dunedin, Southern and Harbour.
But its potent backline has inevitably found a way to the chalk and it has been a feature of the season.
"We've been pretty good at taking our opportunities and that has been down to a little bit of individual brilliance and sometimes just the grittiness and sheer determination of the team to stay in the fight.''
University plays Zingari-Richmond at the University Oval tomorrow.
The last time the sides met, University scored 20 tries in a record 137-0 victory.
The game was called off 10 minutes early when the Colours ran out of fit props.
● Former New Zealand secondary school's midfielder Thomas Umaga-Jensen has been sidelined with a hip injury this season. He received medical clearance and got some game time for a University Colts side last weekend.
