Unbelievable.
No ball, no territory, making three times as many tackles as the opposition, and yet Otago grabbed its second win of the season.
Otago claimed a victory that, looking at the statistics, it had no right to take.
But there is only one statistic that matters and that is the one on the scoreboard after 80 minutes, and it read 37-36 to Otago over Wellington in the capital last night.
All hope looked lost when the side was down by 13 points with less than three minutes to go in the game.
But big flanker Naulia Dawai managed to barge over by the posts and Otago had a sniff.
It ran the kick-off back and slowly worked its way up to the halfway line.
Replacement first five-eighth Fletcher Smith then slipped a nice inside ball to rampaging lock Tom Franklin.
Franklin scampered 30m and, at just the right time, slipped the ball to centre Matt Faddes.
Faddes had the speed to scamper away from the covering defence and run behind the posts.
Peter Breen calmly slotted the conversion and it was a win for the men in blue and gold.
Otago coach Cory Brown said he was extremely proud of the team.
''We showed a lot of courage, a lot of heart. It was just a fantastic effort for 80 minutes,'' he said.
''Our fitness showed through at the end. We had no ball, no territory in what was pretty difficult conditions. The guys who came on from the bench really made an impact and led the way.''
He paid tribute to the defence, which came down to the side's character and never lying down.
Wellington did not just have the lion's share of possession.
It had the whole pride, the rest of the food chain and most of the jungle.
Until the final five minutes in the second half, Otago and getting into the attacking zone were about as connected as a crystal set constructed by an 8-year-old.
Wellington should have had the win in the bag and when flanker Ardie Savea went over to give his side a 13-point lead with just over five minutes left it looked like the game was over.
Best for Otago was Faddes and second five-eighth Tei Walden while Michael Collins made a good fist of playing at fullback.
The loose forwards played well for Otago and lock Blair Tweed got through plenty of work.
Otago had got off to a great start.
Wellington dropped the kick-off and Otago poured on to attack with No 8 Mika Mafi held up over the line.
However, he could not be stopped at the next phase as Otago moved the ball from the scrum. Mafi picked the ball up, drove over and scored.
About halfway through the first half, Wellington finally got over the advantage line and, after a nice run by Savea, fellow loose forward Vaea Fifita went over.
Jason Woodward added the conversion.
Penalties were then exchanged before, just on 25 minutes, Otago made the most of a poor pass from Wellington fullback Cory Jane and Faddes picked up the ball to skip away to score.
Otago was up 23-13 with a couple of minutes to go before halftime, but a silly error through a forward pass gave the home side the ball in a handy position.
After the hooter had gone, it rumbled the ball up and big prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen went over.
Otago v Wellington
The scores
Otago 37
Matt Faddes 2, Mika Mafi, Naulia Dawai tries; Peter Breen 4 con, 3 pen
Wellington 36
Jeffery Toomaga-Allen 2, Ardie Savea, Vaea Fifita tries; Jason Woodward 4 pen, 2 con
Halftime: 23-18 Otago
