Analysis - The narratives in the lead up to the All Blacks' 24-17 victory over the Springboks were many, but really it all came down to one thing. Ardie Savea's 100th test, the Eden Park streak, the first visit by the world champions there in 12 years, the injury crisis at halfback, all of them important but part of a much more base level, innately All Black objective.
If not now, when?
If the All Blacks couldn't get themselves up for this match, with the motivation of those localised, emotional and deeply important storylines, then what hope would they have of winning crunch games going forward?
But it turned out they could. Despite a furious comeback by the Springboks that required a bit of Savea magic to defuse, the All Blacks dug deep, hung on and got the result.
It of course resulted in the uniquely New Zealand convention of feeling relief rather than jubilation at a sporting result, like the country had collectively gone through some sort of traumatic experience and come out the other side.
When the dust settles, this is something worth feeling pretty good about, though. The All Blacks played on brand rugby to establish a 14-0 lead, firstly by circumventing the traditional point of attack for Beauden Barrett's cross kick by stationing Finlay Christie at first five and having Jordie Barrett and Billy Proctor take up the Springbok defensive attention.
Emoni Narawa's finish was beautifully chaotic, Willie le Roux left tumbling and Cheslin Kolbe simply wondering.
Will Jordan's second was again down to deception, with three fake jumps in the lineout compressing the Springbok pack to leave just enough room for the fullback to sneak through off Wallace Sititi's inside ball.
So, two tries off moves that were probably planned months ago, which is not bad at all for the coaching staff and execution skills of the players.
Then there was Quinn Tupaea's clincher later on, which originated from a set move then evolved into a test of patience and timing, one that the forwards and Beauden Barrett passed perfectly.
Just as important was a huge defensive play by Rieko Ioane on Ox Nche, with Ioane perfectly getting under the big prop's ball carrying arm to save a try.
That stood in stark contrast to the Springboks, who bombed every chance they had in the first half and opted for shots at goal, one of which resulted in Handre Pollard's first miss of the test season.
Things definitely weren't all perfect for the All Blacks though. The scrum was shunted back so embarrassingly it might as well have had a reverse beep going, while the lineout looked its shakiest all season.
Damian McKenzie is upended by Springbok Eben Etzebeth. Photo: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
But as soon as the rain started tumbling from the sky, so did the ball.
Finlay Christie was challenging Savea as being the most talked about player in the lead up, but for quite different reasons, with the fourth choice halfback in charge of a gameplan that the All Blacks were so open about in the lead up they may as well have posted it on a billboard.
Christie kicked, kicked and kicked again. Not every single one was perfect, but the general quality was what was required for the All Blacks to change their defensive position to something more advantageous.
He didn't quite get his Stephen Donald moment - in a perfect world Christie would've scored the winning try - but this was very much a performance by an unheralded player that answered a few critics and settled even more nerves.
Kyle Preston deserves praise too, thrust into the test rugby cauldron right as the Springboks were mounting their final charge.
It's not the first time a reserve halfback called Preston has come on to win a test against the Springboks, and that's not the only historical narrative thread the 109th test match between the two great rivals had.
It was a showdown in front of a huge Eden Park crowd, like it was in 1956. Peter Jones' famous 'I'm absolutely buggered' line was referenced in the post-match press conference.
The brutality of the match, that saw Narawa and Codie Taylor injured, harked back to the step up in intensity that marked the amateur era series.
But most of all, it came down to the fact that these were the two best teams in the world making sure everyone knew that.
Scott Robertson said during the week that the eyes of the world were watching, and they would've left impressed, because this was another chapter in the greatest rivalry in the game.
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