It's amazing what a bit of pressure can do. Sometimes it creates diamonds and at other times dust.
Under pressure, due to high expectations and a proper send-off for Dave Rennie, the Manawatu Turbos produced a sparkling performance, thrashing Waikato on Saturday night.
The All Blacks in Port Elizabeth, on the other hand, crumbled under the weight of trying to earn their way into a World Cup jersey.
Not long after the All Black defeat, Graham Henry and his fellow selectors felt a different kind of pressure.
They had the weight of a nation on their shoulders as they decided who would and wouldn't be able to cope with the mantle of responsibility that comes with trying to end a 24-year hiatus.
Among the dark horses, lucky ones and "100% fit and healthy just in time" club were workaholic Zac Guildford, bouncy Anthony Boric, trustworthy Tony Woodcock, industrious Israel Dagg, Cinderella Victor Vito, Twitter-mad Cory Jane, hipster Isaia Toeava and Tokoroa pin-up Richard Kahui.
Unfortunately for Hosea Gear, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Liam Messam, Jarrad Hoeata and Wyatt Crockett, they didn't get the phone call they were hoping for.
Apparently they lacked what the All Black coaches were looking for in this campaign.
How gutted must the Gear whanau be? Rico just missed the cut in 2007, and now younger brother Hosea is feeling the same crushing disappointment.
Colin Slade must be breathing a sigh of relief after his mediocre performance in South Africa, and although Aaron Cruden, given the choice, would jump at the chance of playing in a World Cup, Manawatu will be pleased to have its inspirational general around for the business end of the ITM Cup.
We all know winning is part of the All Black legacy. Unfortunately, so is losing the Rugby World Cup.
The game in Port Elizabeth demonstrated that the frenzy associated with such a tournament can be unsettling.
The one reassuring aspect of the loss against the Springboks was that quality players like Brad Thorn, Richie McCaw and Dan Carter were not a part of it. If they were, I'd really start to worry.
With them back in the fold, the team will hum along more effectively I'm sure.
It's a coincidence that an unlucky 13 players have memories of World Cup defeats.
Five have experienced two crushing losses, eight have experienced one.
They know what it feels like and they'll do anything they can not to go there again. That leaves 17 players who are optimistic and amping to put their untarnished stamp on this campaign.
I've never known the feeling of losing a World Cup but I have felt the pressure that comes with representing your country at such an event. The weight I felt will only be a fraction of what the All Blacks will be feeling.
Former All Black and critic of the modern game Chris Laidlaw highlighted the enormity of this responsibility when he recently presented a lecture on the future of rugby in New Zealand.
He asked: "What difference will winning the World Cup make to rugby's viability in New Zealand?"
We are all hoping that a World Cup win will miraculously fix the problems our national game faces. Will it?
Problems Chris mentioned such as an uneasy fit between the amateur and professional game, the dumbing down of professional players, and the voracious financial appetite of professional players at the expense of grassroots rugby will not disappear if Richie McCaw raises the Webb Ellis trophy triumphantly over his head.
In fact, these problems may be exacerbated if we win. And what if we lose? What impact will that have on rugby in New Zealand?
I can feel the pressure mounting already and I'm not even playing in the tournament! Which is why I should put this pressure in perspective. It is just a game, and life will go on (as it did in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007).
This World Cup is not about me or us. It's an opportunity of a lifetime for these players so let's put them in a pressure-cooker situation and see what happens.
Will we see diamonds or dust? I can't wait.
