Is it one man? Is it the players? Or is it just luck?
The Highlanders are off to a great start in the Super 15 and if someone had said a month ago they would win their first three games, the straitjackets would have been out.
But win them they have, and the Highlanders' bandwagon is rapidly resembling a Delhi rush-hour express.
So what is different from last year, when the side struggled to a measly three wins from 13 games?First of all, new coach Jamie Joseph has breathed life into the side.
You see it in all sports. A new manager comes in and the players respond.
Joseph has the respect of the players and has laid down the law about the way he wants his side to play. He says what has to be done and expects his orders to be followed.
He is not a players' coach, whatever that is, but has got the best out of players and that is what any coach must do.
The follow-me approach is working.
And do not disregard the input of assistant coaches Simon Culhane and Kieran Keane.
Players such as Jarrad Hoeata are not drowning in skill but they will go to hell and back for the team.
No8 Nasi Manu is also a vital ingredient. Manu can pick up a lot of the rubbish ball and simply cart it up over the advantage line to get the Highlanders on to the front foot.
Throw in players such as Adam Thomson, Alando Soakai, Jamie Mackintosh and Kendrick Lynn, in the best form of their careers, and it makes for a pretty potent product.
Most importantly, the Highlanders are not making errors. The little things are being done well and without fuss.
The try straight after halftime yesterday was a case in point. The Highlanders won the ball at the kickoff and then just moved it around, through and across the Bulls, before lock Josh Bekhuis crossed.
In previous years, the ball would have been dropped or knocked on, or someone would have put in a stupid kick. The Highlanders have cut out those mistakes and realised hanging on to the ball is the key.
Good sides do not make errors. Opponents feed off them so if you do not give them anything to feast on, they wither.
The Highlanders have also been blessed with a slice of good fortune. But for the followers of the team, it is due. No, overdue.
Thomson's try yesterday was super close to the sideline but the referee did not even go to his third match official.
Last year, in the first game against the Crusaders, Thomson scampered away to set up a try only to be called back by referee Chris Pollock, who admitted later he made the wrong call.
The Blues beat the Highlanders last year at Carisbrook because a charged-down kick went their way.
No matter what level of rugby you are playing at, sometimes you need the calls to go your way. And they seem to be doing that at the moment.
Sure, there are still issues. The scrum has been shaky and the odd brain explosion still occurs.
And it could all turn to custard.
But a win in South Africa? At intimidating Loftus Versfeld? That is something to celebrate.
