The Highlanders have scrapped their way to a rare win over the Blues to reclaim the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy for the first time since 2006.
It was once again a close game that could have gone either way, but a great effort late in the game saw that the Highlanders emerged 30-27 to record their sixth win in eight performances.
Mike Delany proved his worth, kicking accurately and racking up 20 points, seeing that the Highlanders were able to cash in on their dominance which was very much the difference between this game and the loss to the Stormers two weeks earlier.
To go with this he looked to run and did so effectively and made great use of his backline. The way he combined with Hosea Gear in the movement which led to the Highlanders first try was outstanding, drifting just enough and timing his pass to perfection to put Gear into a gap who after making a break found Shaun Treeby who got the scoring underway for the home side.
This was just one of many instances where Hosea Gear was influential, having easily his best game of the season making numerous breaks and giving the Blues defence all sorts of problems. While he has had a high work rate in every game, too often he has had to go looking for the ball whereas this week the ball was given to him and space and he was finally able to show just how dangerous he is.
The rest of the backline generally operated very well too, with the midfield in particularly strong on defence shutting down the threats of Ma'a Nonu and Rene Ranger.
It was a fairly even battle in the forwards, with both packs getting on top at different stages of the game. The Highlanders once again counter-rucked well winning their fair share turnovers. The scrum struggled early on but improved as the game progressed while the lineout was much improved on past weeks.
As is always the case with the Highlanders it was hard to pick out individuals in the forwards as they tend to operate so well as a team, but Nasi Manu and Adam Thomson were both particularly prominent.
Thomson once again ranged well while also making plenty of tackles and must surely be the leading contender to take over from Jerome Kaino in the All Blacks. Meanwhile Manu continues to go from strength to strength and if he can keep playing the way he is might find himself in a black jersey in the coming years.
The lottery of the breakdowns took away from the contest up front, as players from both teams struggled to know when they had rights and when they didn't.
This has become a feature of almost every game in the competition this year and needs to be looked at. It is undoubtedly extremely difficult for the referees to police the whole time, which is little wonder given the vagueness of the rules. Mistakes are going to be made, that is nothing new.
What is becoming frustrating is seeing the number of obscure offences get picked up while the obvious ones are let go. It's deciding games and when such uncertainty is present it makes it so hard for the players to know what the best thing to do is to close a game out.
It is this that makes playing too much rugby deep inside your own half dangerous and while they did look to kick more, there were still times when the Highlanders needed to be clearing earlier. This was seen twice in the second half, where two penalties were conceded off kickoffs within a few minutes of each other.
The other tactic which possibly needs to be looked at is the flat balls being delivered by Aaron Smith. While it is a good way to get go forward and when done right is very effective, particularly with the ball runners in this Highlanders team, it needs to be used at the right time. That is, when they have quick ball.
If the ball has been slowed down it gives the defence the chance to organise themselves and get up quickly meaning such a flat ball effectively becomes a hospital pass and no momentum is gained.
It was a game that would have suited Jimmy Cowan and particularly when Smith was having an off night, he would have been better to have come on much earlier than what he did.
Eventually he was brought on and proved effective in helping the Highlanders once again close out a close game.
The win ensures they remain in fifth place on the standings, but will be tested in the coming two weeks with a trip to South Africa where they will meet the Sharks and the Cheetahs. It will be here that they will truly show their worth, and if they can win these games there will be very few reasons to doubt that they aren't genuine contenders.