No injuries, a strong finish and a third consecutive win.
That was exactly the sort of weekend Otago coach Steve Martin was hoping for and that was what he got as his side beat Tasman by a point in a pre-season game in Nelson on Saturday.
Otago trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half but claimed a morale-boosting win with three minutes to go with a try from prop Ben Nolan.
"We ran them down and scored three minutes from full-time," Martin told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"We made a lot of changes but the main thing was we showed composure and maintained structures to the end."
Otago took an early lead in its third pre-season game in three weeks when first five-eighth Chris Noakes scored a try under the bar after just five minutes.
But Tasman, playing with the wind, took a five-point lead into the second half and scored a try immediately after the break, forcing Otago to lift its tempo.
Martin said playing a fellow Air New Zealand Cup side, after big wins against Heartland Championship sides North Otago and Mid Canterbury, had given Otago a better read on where it was placed heading into the season.
"Tasman's a difficult opponent. They were at full strength and they were a quarterfinalist last year.
"It was something of a wake-up call, as we expected, for the players. You run up big scores then come up against a more aggressive opponent. I think we'll get a lot of benefit out of it."
Martin said former All Black prop Kees Meeuws played the last 20 minutes on the tighthead side of the scrum on his Otago return.
"Kees played well and did his job."
Otago now has a quick turnaround before its final pre-season game against Southland in Invercargill on Friday night, followed a week later by the Ranfurly Shield challenge in Wellington.
Martin said there no significant fresh injuries to report, and he hoped both halfback Sean Romans (hamstring) and fullback Ben Smith (Achilles) would be fit for the Southland clash.
Competition was developing in some positions, Martin said.
Loose forwards Hoani Matenga and Eben Joubert were working hard to put pressure on Alando Soakai and Adam Thomson, who is getting back to full fitness after breaking a bone in his hand, and Luke Herden, Andrew Parata and Brett Mather were looking sharp in the midfield.
Otago fans may also get to witness the blossoming of Noakes, the most dominant player in Dunedin club rugby who scored two tries on Saturday and will be crucial to Otago's hopes this season.
"Chris has matured nicely as a player. He's been in very good form in club rugby and he's played well for us," Martin said.
Martin must name a squad with at least 26 players by Wednesday, but he indicated he and his selectors would probably make their decision today.
Otago 33 (Chris Noakes 2, Steven Setephano, Ben Nolan, Aaron Bancroft tries; Noakes 4 conversions), Tasman 32.
Half-time: Tasman 12-7.
