It was at night, it was against Marlborough, and the team won.
He also recalls rooming with big No 8 Paul Miller, and there were other Otago players making their debut for the Otago that night - his former locking mate, James Ryan, for one.
But little else comes to mind about a match at Blenheim in July, 2002, that Otago won 42-12.
To be fair, there has been plenty of water under the bridge since then for the big lock, who will run out on Carisbrook tonight against Taranaki in his 50th match for the Otago side.
Donnelly (26) has played for the Highlanders for five seasons and the Junior All Blacks for two.
He has also turned out for New Zealand Universities and, in between times, has had three operations on his shoulders - two on his left and one on his right, putting him out of action for six months at a time.
He was also called into the All Blacks' wider training squad earlier this year, and trained with the All Blacks when the side was preparing for the test against the Springboks in Dunedin.
But he is not counting his chickens in getting a call to pack his bags for the end-of-year All Black tour.
"You can't get your hopes up or you'll just get let down. They [All Blacks selectors] told me a few things to concentrate on, like work rate, get involved more in the game," he said.
"They asked me to show a bit more consistency which is a big thing for me. Sometimes I don't back up from one game to the next. I don't know why.
"Games just don't go your way."
Donnelly said the highlight of his Otago career so far was making the final of the national provincial competition in 2005, when it lost to Auckland after a stunning victory over Canterbury in the semifinal.
"That was pretty big for us. We beat them [Canterbury] twice that year. But I've played with some great players over the years: Tony Brown, Carl Hayman, Carl Hoeft. Even the young guys we've got coming through now have a lot of talent."
"The game has changed a lot over the years. It's evolving all the time. In the old days tight forwards just pushed in scrums and cleaned out rucks.
"Now you've got to be able to read a game, have good ball skills. You've got be a lot more skilful."
Donnelly said he was keen to stay with Otago and was in positive negotiations to sign a contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union to stay in the country for another couple of years.
He had received a couple of overseas offers in recent years but had not taken them seriously, he said.
He was still enjoying playing for Otago.
Originally from Rotorua, he graduated from the University of Otago with a bachelor of surveying in 2005.
He had done a couple of days surveying work at a subdivision near Blackhead earlier this year, and that was something he might look at in retirement.
The 2m lock has overcome a niggling hamstring injury, which ruled him out last week, to play tonight.
Donnelly said it has got down to a must-win for Otago.
If the side could win the next three matches and made it to the quarterfinals, then anything could happen in a one-off game.
His return should bolster a pack which will have its hands full tonight.
Led by prop Tony Penn, who will celebrate his 100th game for the province tonight, Taranaki is always a rugged opponent.
It sits just one place behind Otago, in 10th, on the Air New Zealand Cup table.
It has a couple of handy locks in Craig Clarke and Jason Eaton, although former All Black Eaton is under an injury cloud after straining his hamstring at training earlier this week.
Taranaki last won at Carisbrook in 1986 and has had a roller-coaster season, although it beat Manawatu 14-3 in its most recent game.
This really is backs-to-the-wall time for both sides - lose and making it to post-season play will be very, very difficult.
For Otago, it needs to finally deliver tonight.
Future employment prospects are on the line.
Players such as No 8 Steven Setephano, halfback Toby Morland and hooker Jason Macdonald need to front after having quiet seasons.
Otago has been plagued by bad starts this year and, if it logs another one tonight, it may kiss its post-season chances goodbye.
