Whoosh.
That was the sound Jackson Garden-Bachop heard when Otago flanker Lucas Casey ran around him to score the second of his two tries to help set up a dramatic 46-41 win against the defending champions in Porirua this afternoon.
Wellington came to play as well.
They scored six tries and led 14-0 after about five minutes.
And they held on to the ball for three minutes at the end as they probed for a hole in the Otago defence.
It was a fitting finish to a pulsating game where attack dominated.
Otago halfback Dylan Pledger cleared the ruck at warp speed and he combined with All Black Christian Lio-Willie to punch holes around the ruck.
Pledger is an All Black in the making, surely.
Casey showed off his attacking prowess and pace to burn off Garden-Bachop.
He also got in a deft back flip pass to set up a try for Pledger.
Jona Nareki got on the score sheet as well, and he made all the right decisions out on the left winger.
This was an important win for Otago and coach Mark Brown.
They won the Mike Gibson Trophy and bagged five points to cement a spot in the top eight for another week.
‘‘I’m delighted with the win,’’ Brown said
‘‘It is great to come up here, play the defending champions and get a win.
‘‘We were able to show what we are capable of when we hold on to the ball for a period of time.
‘‘But you can replay what I told you last week about our starts.
‘‘We’ve got to get them right.’’
Otago’s discipline in the opening 10 minutes was poor.
They put themselves under too much pressure.
But, look, whoosh is also the sound expectations make when they head through the roof.
It is still early in the campaign, but Otago look to have some powerful pieces on board.
The game started poorly, though.
Millar kicked out on the full after Pledger had taken the ball back into the 22.
That gifted the home team an opportunity to strike first and they obliged.
Julian Savea put in a grubber and Matt Proctor dived on it to score.
Otago conceded a penalty and were right back on defence.
Lock Hugo Plummer crashed over.
The visitors eventually responded.
Nareki made a strong carry close to the touchline, got the ball to Casey, who found Pledger with a sneaky pass as he was being bundled into touch.
The classy No 9 strolled over and dotted down.
The two teamed up again for a second try.
Pledger sold a dummy to the entire Wellington lineout, burst free and passed to Casey, who dashed to the line.
The lineout proved fruitful again when Joseva Tamani got an inside ball to Casey and scampered 25m to score.
Garden-Bachop tried to stop him but he flew by.
Otago built on their 24-19 halftime lead with a try to lock Will Tucker.
Lio-Willie broke free from a ruck. Pledger recycled quickly and Tucker provided the catch and flop out wide.
Wellington responded when right winger Tom Maiava pounced on a loose pass and took off for a five-pointer.
All Black hooker Asafo Aumua made an immediate impact. He barged over the advantage The game just kept offering up twists.
Wellington opted to take a penalty with under a minute left in regulation time.
They got the ball back from the restart and had one more shot at glory in a tense finish.
In the other round three games, Southland came from behind to beat Manawatū 29-22, Canterbury breezed to a 21-7 win against Bay of Plenty, Tasman defeated Northland 28-14 and Hawke’s Bay beat North Harbour 36-22.
NPC
The scores
Otago 46
Lucas Casey 2, Dylan Pledger, Will Tucker, Jona Nareki, Thomas Umaga-Jensen tries; Cameron Millar con 5, pen 2.
Wellington 41
Matt Proctor 2, Hugo Plummer, Esi Komaisavai, Tom Maiava, Akira Ieremia tries; Jackson Garden-Bachop 4 con, pen
Halftime: 24-19
