Phew! That was a semifinal too tense for some rugby fans but the All Blacks will now be defending their Rugby World Cup crown next weekend. Sports editor Steve Hepburn got up at 4am yesterday to watch the nail-biting 20-18 win over the Springboks.
Years from now - when Richie McCaw is a fighter pilot, single-handedly solving the Middle East crisis, and Sonny Bill Williams is in the WWE ring - this game will not be a popular seller at the DVD store.
It was just that sort of game - and at this stage of any high-pressure tournament they always are.
Tight, tense, no quarter given, no quarter asked.
Few clean line breaks, lots of kicking - much of it poor - and about as many incisive backline breaks as Kim Dotcom's fitness plans.
In the semifinals and finals of any major sporting tournament these days, it is more about substance than style - has the pressure on winning become too big?
The World Cup is now such a huge and unrelenting monster that the sole purpose in all of rugbydom is to win the thing.
It is almost more important than life or death.
We know it is a big deal, bigger than any other rugby competition in the world.
It is also sport at its most intense - but it is not sport at its very best.
Is it somewhat ironic the stakes have been built so high at the World Cup that the showpiece of the sport does not actually display the parts of rugby which make it such an attractive game?
The passing, the running, the slick backline moves, the creation of space.
That all goes out the window in these knockout games with a safety-first option.
Kick and chase, back your defence and do not chance your arm.
Occasionally the pressure wilts and the All Blacks can play a great game - like last week when a meek France simply did not show up and the men in black ran riot.
But at Twickenham, the Springboks were up for it, and the All Blacks threw away, for the most part, the attacking playbook.
There were too many kicks when on attack.
How many times did Ben Smith run the ball back and look for a gap?
The risk and reward line often gets trotted out.
Take a bit of a risk and the reward is greater.
But in these big games no-one takes any risks.
The rewards tend to come in three-pointers.
And the reward for the spectator - a thrilling game but not a great game to remember.
Other thoughts:
•All Black scrum coach Mike Cron is supposedly retiring. Judging by the All Black scrum, has he clocked off early?
•Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick - could they go on to be the best locking duo in the country's history? Or are they already there?
•One more game. Is there enough petrol left in the tank?
