As sporting weekends go, they do not get much better than the one just past.
That is particularly the case for those fortunate enough to have been in the crowd at the University Oval on Saturday for the final day and denouement of the finely balanced test match between the Black Caps and Pakistan.
At the outset, it could have gone either way.
By tea and the final session it was still anyone's game before comeback king Shane Bond struck a telling blow to dismiss the dangerous Umar Akmal and finally give the home team the edge.
Piling on the pressure, skipper Daniel Vettori, ably assisted by paceman Iain O'Brien, took the last wickets, the final a return catch to the Black Caps captain - met with elation by the man himself, his team and almost the entire crowd.
The latter may not have been huge in number - estimates put the total at about 2200 - but such was their involvement in the match and the passion with which the cheered on the home team, they might have comprised a crowd many times the size.
As Vettori himself put it shortly after the match, it "felt like there were 80,000 people out there".
Then to set the seal on the weekend, the All Blacks put together the performance of the season to brush the French aside by 39-12 in Marseille, both sides playing the sort of adventurous running rugby conspicuously absent from the top-level game over the last few months.
First things first.
With respect to the cricket, congratulations are in order on several fronts.
First to the Otago Cricket Association for hosting such a fine and well-organised event.
And to the groundsman Tom Tamati for producing a lasting wicket when most people, moved by November's unseasonably cool weather, predicted an unpredictable surface.
Together, once again, they have shown Dunedin has the wherewithal to host excellent test matches.
The crowd played its part, coming out to enjoy the contest in a good-natured, enthusiastic manner, involving themselves in the game with chanting and encouragement, but applauding either side when a deserving stroke, a fine delivery or an excellent piece of fielding warranted it.
Finally, the positive and sporting approach of both teams cannot go unremarked.
It augurs well for the next test match in Wellington on Wednesday and was throughout an advertisement for the longer form of the game, which showed yet again that, despite the encroachment of its various shorter variants, is capable of holding its own in terms of action, excitement and suspense.
Three tests have now been played at the University Oval with two wins and a draw.
Dunedin is proving a happy hunting ground for the Black Caps and this, along with the all-round success of the five-day event, should not go unnoticed by New Zealand Cricket as it looks to the allocation of future fixtures.
If Vettori once again proved himself to be among the finest all-rounders in the game, with this knock of 99 in the first innings and his vital bowling contribution, particularly during Saturday's spell-binding final session, then he has his equivalent in All Blacks counterpart Richie McCaw.
The All Blacks took to the field in France yesterday with the jury still out on their 2009 season.
They sealed it as a success with a barnstorming win against the French, characterised by fast-moving, robust forward play, incisive back play and, as befits the best of teams, a slick, coherent combination of both.
For McCaw, the occasion will remain especially memorable.
Within minutes of the final whistle, the New Zealand captain was holding both the Dave Gallaher Trophy, and the award for International Rugby Board player of the year.
The All Black now have only the game against the Barbarians on Sunday morning to complete before returning home for a well-earned rest.
Perhaps some of them might even have time to relax in the sun and enjoy the remainder of the cricket series against Pakistan in Wellington, or Napier - where the third test is scheduled.
