Taieri captain Charlie O'Connell found it hard to stay disappointed for too long following his side's convincing 31-15 loss to University A.
The students dominated the premier club final, played at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday. Taieri spent long periods in the second half defending and was unable to rebound after conceding two tries late in the opening 40min.
But some of the frustration melted away for the hard-working No8 when he took a look around at the scene in the clubrooms later that night.
The Eels enjoy wonderful support and the fans were in good spirits despite the result.
''Everyone plays to win the banner and that is what determines the success of a season or not,'' O'Connell said.
''But I think it is about more than that. We had a good season and our whole goal at the club is to create a good environment for rugby players to achieve their goals.
''When we walked back in to the clubrooms, the place was packed wall to wall. You get up on stage and you ask yourself, `did we really lose?'.
''Yes, we lost the game, but our club and our supporters are unbelievable.''
O'Connell was satisfied his team had prepared well and had tried to play to the game plan. But University A had more punch out wide and its pack got on top.
''That 10 minutes just before halftime when University scored those two quick tries [was costly],'' O'Connell said.
''That was a couple of big blows at the end of the half and we just didn't really recover from there.
''They played a lot more rugby than we played. We spent most of the second half defending our own line and when we finally got the chance to clear, we couldn't execute in terms of our set piece.
''It was pretty frustrating but that is where the game was won and lost.''
O'Connell (28), who brought up 100 games for the Eels earlier this year, is contracted to Otago but plans to hang up his boots at the end of the provincial season.
