Their performances were separated by 19,000km and about 15 hours but both Daniel Vettori and Richie McCaw were toasted by New Zealand sports fans at the weekend.
The respected and experienced leaders of the country's cricket and rugby team respectively helped make it a weekend to remember.
Vettori got to celebrate a rare test cricket win as the Black Caps beat Pakistan by 32 runs at Dunedin's University Oval on Saturday evening.
McCaw then led the All Blacks to a crushing 39-12 win against France in Marseille.
Within minutes of the final whistle, McCaw was holding both the Dave Gallaher Trophy and the award for International Rugby Board player of the year.
Vettori might not have earned quite that level of recognition but he did take the last two Pakistan wickets as the first test ended with a thrilling final session.
Just 2200 people were at the University Oval but they made so much noise it prompted Vettori to say it "felt like there were 80,000 people out there".
It was New Zealand's first test win in more than a year, and it was their second in three tests at the redeveloped University Oval.
The second test starts in Wellington on Wednesday.
The All Blacks' test season is over but they have one tour game left, against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday morning (NZ time).
