Sorrow has been replaced with joy for a 7-year-old Dunedin boy, set to fly to Wellington to see the Highlanders play the Hurricanes.
Hayden Buckley will watch his favourite team in the Super 15 final tomorrow, just days after it appeared his hopes had been dashed.
Hayden's mother, Raquel Rodriguez, queued online to buy tickets to Saturday's Super 15 final.
Believing she had booked two seats, she then spent $1300 on airline tickets, only to discover the purchase of the rugby tickets had not gone through.
Former Dunedin woman Rachel Gilchrist, of Wellington, saw the message and wanted to help.
Initially unable to contact Mrs Rodriguez, the pair got in contact after a report in yesterday's Otago Daily Times and some Facebook posts, and two tickets, at cost price, were on their way to Dunedin.
''It's just amazing,'' Mrs Rodriguez said.
''We were going for him [Hayden].
''He's been to every home game for the last two seasons.
''He is so happy.''
Mrs Rodriguez said she would try to meet Mrs Gilchrist in Wellington before the match to thank her.
''I want to give her some flowers,'' she said.
And it will not be their first meeting: in a coincidence, the two women attended Andersons Bay Primary School together in the late 1980s.
Hayden said he was ''excited'' about going to the game, especially because it was the Super 15 final.
He was most looking forward to watching Highlander Waisake Naholo ''because he beat [former Highlander and All Black] Jeff Wilson's record''.
Mrs Rodriquez's father, a Dunedin man who asked not to be named, will go to the match with his grandson.
They would travel to Wellington with family members, but just the two would be going to the match.
And fans have answered the call for Highlanders flags for supporters going to tomorrow's match.
By 5pm yesterday, more than 250 flags had been handed in at the Edgar Centre.
