You know that feeling when you get a brand-new Raleigh Twenty under the Christmas tree but your neighbour is hooning around the block on a 10-speed?
Got that feeling again at the weekend.
And, like children, we have the pip, because the chrome on the handlebars no longer appears to shine as brightly.
Otago offered a tantalising glimpse of perfection this season but fell just short.
They won seven games in a row to storm into the final of the NPC.
The expectations of Otago fans had swollen so much that one eye was completely shut.
It blinded us to history. We forgot how hard it is to beat Canterbury at home.
We were still dazed from the glorious effort to pry the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury’s grip back in round eight.
Canterbury were too good in the final at a packed Apollo Projects Stadium. They took control of the game in the second half and won 36-28.
Otago struggled into the nor’wester. Their kicking options were poor. Their lineout got the wobbles.
But Canterbury were clinical. And there is no shame in losing to a quality team who were too strong on the day.
The loss should not taint the whole season.
Otago played a sparkling brand of rugby this season that helped them stitch together a series of notable wins.
The Ranfurly Shield win captured people’s imagination, and suddenly the turnstiles were spinning again.
Nearly 6000 fans watched Otago lock away the Log o’Wood for the summer with a 41-26 win over North Harbour in round nine.
The tense quarterfinal win over Waikato attracted the best part of 5000 fans, and about 11,000 showed up to watch Otago dispatch Bay of Plenty 41-17 in the semifinal.
People fell in love with the Otago rugby team again this season.
He wanted his team to dominate the breakdown, clear the rucks quickly and play the game at pace.
Everyone had a role to play, but it was halfback Dylan Pledger who made that game plan work so well.
He quickly became one of Otago’s most important players.
The speed at which he was able to recycle the ball generated precious extra seconds for first five Cameron Millar.
Millar had come off a difficult season with the Highlanders and took some time to find his rhythm again.
But he grew in confidence with each game, and it will be interesting to see if Millar and Pledger can make their promising partnership work for the Highlanders next year.
Christian Lio-Willie should be renamed Christian Lion-Willie on account of the fact he charged forward and got Otago over the advantage line almost every carry.
Pledger was so often the player on his shoulder waiting to collect the offload.
Otago’s 8-9-10 spine was the best in the competition.
Lucas Casey was another standout. The openside combined physicality with winger-like pace.
He scored two cracking tries in the Ranfurly Shield heist and finished the season as the joint leading try-scorer with nine five-pointers.
Winger Jona Nareki thundered into tackles, grabbed turnovers, broke the defensive line and kicked 50-22s.
Sam Gilbert was a magnet under the high ball.
Lock Will Tucker was one of the unsung heroes. He nabbed a lot of lineout ball and was Otago’s leading tackler.
Centre Josh Timu was solid on defence.
Everyone found a way to contribute. Everyone.
And they won the Donald Stuart (v Southland), Mike Gibson (v Wellington) and Lin Colling (v Auckland) memorial trophies as well as the Payne Trophy (v Canterbury) and the Ranfurly Shield.
Otago just did not have an extra gear in that final.
Otago season
In a nutshell
Record: Played 13, won 10, lost 3, beaten finalists.
Trophies: Ranfurly Shield, Donald Stuart, Lin Colling and Mike Gibson memorials, Payne Trophy.
Points: Scored 451, conceded 342.
Team tries: 60 (second in NPC).
Leading scorer: Cameron Millar 156 points (most in NPC).
Most tries: Lucas Casey 9 (equal most in NPC), Dylan Pledger 8, Jona Nareki 6.
Achievements: First appearance in the NPC final since 2005, first time Otago have won seven consecutive NPC games since the seven they won across the 1998-99 seasons.
ODT awards
Best game: The 38-36 win over Canterbury to lift the Ranfurly Shield in round eight was an instant classic.
Worst game: The opening 20 minutes during the 27-21 loss to Hawke’s Bay in round two were characterised by poor discipline and too many errors.
Best player: Powerful No 8 Christian Lio-Willie bashed down a lot of doors for Otago.
Honourable mention: Otago’s game plan largely hinged on the rapid clearances of halfback Dylan Pledger.
Most improved: Openside Lucas Casey made the step up from Dunedin division 1 club player of the year to one of the most talked-about players in the NPC.
Clutch play: Cameron Millar knocked over a long-distance penalty in injury time to seal a dramatic 44-41 win over Waikato in a quarterfinal in Dunedin.
