But the ball definitely got fumbled — otherwise, the Otago Spirit would be hosting the Farah Palmer Cup championship final under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium this weekend.
Instead, Otago will play Hawke’s Bay at the Balclutha Showgrounds on Saturday afternoon.
The showgrounds might not have been the first choice. But a large contingent of the home team are from the "country" and are looking forward to what should be a grand occasion.
The first choice was to play the final at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow night.
Otago Rugby Football Union chief executive Richard Kinley had even made a booking.
"I don’t believe anyone has dropped the ball," Kinley said in an email.
"A number of months ago, when the draft FPC draw was released, we were given the option of a potential final [on] 9-10-11 of September.
"At that time we discussed and settled on the Friday night."
But as the season unfolded, it was clear a Friday night game was not going to work out.
Kinley said the broadcaster, Sky, felt a 5pm time slot would not maximise fan engagement. But, more importantly, it would have meant the Hawke’s Bay players would have had to take extra time off work.
There was some late scrambling to secure another date.
Forsyth Barr Stadium had accepted a Football South booking for Saturday and Sunday.
Football South chief executive Dougal McGowan said his organisation had worked with the ORFU and Dunedin Venues to find a solution with the hope the Spirit game could be played at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday.
"We tried to work with rugby to see if we could make that happen, but unfortunately that is not going to be the case," McGowan said.
"It is a shame we couldn’t get it to work out because it would have been a great showpiece."
Dunedin Venues chief executive Terry Davies said shifting community bookings that had already gone through the Dunedin City Council approval process was just not possible.
"It is not just as matter of saying, ‘mate, there is a field there — go and have a go’. We do everything we can to accommodate everyone that wants to use the stadium [but there is a process]," Davies said
Otago Spirit coach Scott Manson’s preference would have been to play the game at Forsyth Barr Stadium. But as soon as that was not possible, his focus shifted to finding a good surface for the game.
The University Oval in Dunedin and the John Davies Oval in Queenstown are being prepared for the cricket season, so were not a goer.
Dunedin’s Kettle Park offered a dry track, but Balclutha provided an opportunity to celebrate the team’s connection to the regions.
"We just thought there would be a bit more meaning in taking it to the country," Manson said.
"And the actual ground in Balclutha looks mint at the moment.
"The other thing is, our whole theme for the year has been around trying to connect to the province, its history and its people.
"I’ve broken it down and 11 players are from the country. There are 10 from outside of Dunedin and nine who are Dunedin-raised.
"There is real meaning and connection back to the country. Hopefully the community will come out and support it and pack the ground out.
"I reckon we can get a better vibe and atmosphere in Balclutha than we would get at the stadium. That could be really special and awesome."
Sky executive producer of sport operations Marcus Kennedy was not quite as enthusiastic about shooting at the Balclutha Showgrounds, but was running with it.
“While it’s always our preference to use stadia which are set up for easy broadcasting, we’re used to things changing on the fly, so we’re just rolling with that and doing whatever we can to ensure New Zealanders can see just what’s possible for wahine in rugby.
"The final is super important to us and the women who play the game they love."
