Jubilant Highlanders fans were doing the Highland fling in the aisles of Westpac Stadium - and in the deep south - as Jamie Joseph's band of rugby heroes last night claimed their first Super Rugby title.
After 19 seasons of heartbreak and underachievement, the Highlanders' winning efforts unleashed emotional scenes from hardcore fans, some of whom had shelled out more than $400 on scalped tickets and travelled more than 900km to get to the game.
There were man hugs and the occasional tear in the Wellington stadium's aisles after the Highlanders' 21-14 triumph in a pulsating win over the Hurricanes, with the cheers reaching fever pitch when co-captain Ben Smith held the Super Rugby trophy aloft.
The Highlanders led 13-5 at halftime after a stunning try from blockbusting loose forward Elliot Dixon.
The Cake Tin was decked out in the gold and black of the Hurricanes, and the blue and gold of the Highlanders, as more than 35,000 rugby fans cheered on the two perennial New Zealand Super Rugby underdogs in the showdown.
Some fans chartered small planes to get to the match. And six Highlanders fans flew from the deep south by helicopter to the big match, stopping off yesterday at several drinking establishments on the flight to Wellington.
Others entered Westpac Stadium after sleeping out overnight midweek in a bid to get their hands on the last remaining tickets, after the 29,000 released on Monday were snapped up in 59 seconds.
Also among the sell-out crowd were members of Jerry Collins' family, including his father, Frank. Last night's final came 29 days after the tragic death of the former All Black and Hurricane, and his partner Alana Madill, in a car crash in France.
Yesterday morning Collins' great friend and former teammate Neemia Tialata tweeted a photo of himself feeding the couple's 3-month-old daughter, Ayla, who almost died in the crash, draped in her dad's Hurricanes jersey. Collins was also remembered by Hurricanes fans who carried banners stating: "Do it for Jerry" to the game.
Highlanders fans were heavily outnumbered among the sell-out crowd, but they still made their presence known.
Pre-match, Mark Stewart was riling his Hurricanes-supporting relatives with a jovial rendition of southern ode I'm a Southern Man, outside the stadium.
Stewart was a staunch Highlanders fan even though he'd lived in the capital for about 16 years.
His wife, Vicky, a Canes supporter, was unable to persuade her husband to switch sides.
"We never agreed on anything in 35 years," Mark joked.
For Regan Chisholm and Andrew Duncan, the final was a chance to catch up with old friends.
"We were born and bred in Dunedin," Duncan said, sporting a blue wig beneath his shiny blue mock top hat. "We both left after university. We haven't caught up in years."
Duncan wasn't too worried about who won. "We're just happy to be here," he said.
Logan Dean from Invercargill and mates Adam Marshall, Tim Marshall, Kirsten Todd and Michael Ward chanted and sang in the concourse ahead of the match.
Dean was impressed how many fellow Highlanders fans made the pilgrimage. Like many other Highlanders supporters, he remembered the pain of defeat to the Crusaders in the 1999 final.
Supporters of both teams were adamant pre-match they would not be denied a first Super Rugby title.
"This is huge. This is bigger then Ben Hur," Wellington's Stuart Preston said.
The Hurricanes fan said the final reminded him of the pressure the Springboks faced in the 1995 World Cup and the All Blacks faced 16 years later.
"It's one of those historic occasions."
The Super Rugby showdown doubled as a multimillion-dollar payday for the capital's hospitality industry. Most motels and hotels had "No vacancy" signs out.
"As far as rugby goes, we definitely think it's bigger than an All Black test," Jeremy Smith, Hospitality New Zealand Wellington branch president, said of the financial windfall.
- by John Weekes
