Anxious chatter, to half time confidence, to second half silence before full time ecstasy - a crowd of about 200 at the Octagon's Terrace Bar enacted all the emotions of an epic thriller watching the 2015 Rugby World Cup final yesterday morning.
The bar was one of several Octagon establishments open for the game, all of which were full of fans by the time the game kicked off at 5am.
A strong first half performance by the All Blacks, topped with a try just before the break, left the Terrace's overwhelmingly black clad crowd jovial and chatty during the interval.
That mood lifted another notch with Ma'a Nonu's try early in the second half, but the sending off of Dunedin's Ben Smith and the Wallabies' subsequent two try fight back left a cold, quiet, nervous mood as the game ground towards its finale.
Thankfully those nerves did not turn to nightmares for the New Zealand fans as the All Blacks sealed the win in the final minutes.
The crowd released its anxiety in a roar of jumping, shouting, hugging and applauding as Ben Smith kicked to touch to end the game.
Dunedin Southern District Command Centre Senior Sergeant Craig Brown said police encountered no trouble from rugby fans around the Octagon during or after the game.
