Aaron Smith had a whole week of goodbyes from the Highlanders a couple of months ago and now he has had his opportunity to experience one last taste of being an All Black on home soil.
Master halfback Smith nearly raised the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium when he entered Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup test with 27 minutes left on the clock.
It was the loudest noise heard at the stadium since, well, the Fifa World Cup game between the Football Ferns and Switzerland just six days earlier, and it made the No 9’s heart beat a little faster.
"I was at the scrum, and I was pretty happy it reset because I had to check myself," Smith said.
"It was special. Even when I was running around on the sideline warming up, they were saying "come on, Nuggie" and all this.
"I wanted to be focused and do my job, and I knew the only way I could do the cheer justice was to do my role.
"But it was special, and my heart was definitely racing."
Fellow halfback Folau Fakatava engineered a poetic Highlanders send-off for Smith when he scored a late try in a win over the Reds in May.
On Saturday, Smith threatened his own fairy tale when he set off on a trademark run deep into enemy territory late in the game before being dragged down by a Wallabies defender.
"Hah. For about two seconds, I thought I was gone, but then he caught me very quickly.
"It was cool to just add to the game. That was a little moment to try and do something.
"I wish I had a winger with me or someone faster to put away."
As he did when the emotions of his Highlanders farewell threatened to become overwhelming, Smith focused on the task at hand rather than what his final home test meant to him.
"You want to actually just be part of a good performance.
"We won, and that’s the step we had to take to keep gathering momentum as a team."
Smith described the game as a "good old test match" and described his relief at getting the job done.
"They’re not always pretty, and I think tonight we had two teams trying really hard to use the conditions in their favour and they probably over-played.
"Halftime was a real critical point for us to reset, use our set piece, and tighten them up.
"We were kind of playing a bit wide and giving them chances to get us. So the clear message was to use our scrum, use our maul and build pressure.
"Sometimes these games are the ones you remember because you found a way, somehow. We were able to stick it out, which was very special."
Smith paid tribute to another departing veteran, lock Sam Whitelock, who was immense in the second half as the All Blacks tried to dig themselves out of a hole.
"He’s a warrior, isn’t he? He’s a legend of our game.
"He’s pretty clutch in those moments and he just knows when to do the right thing and where to win the lineout.
"Sam is class. A guy like that, in those situations, says the right things in the huddle to keep us calm. Guys like that always show up."
Smith is a no-brainer selection in the World Cup squad on Monday but he still feels the nerves of hopeful selection and will surround himself with family before hopefully getting the call.
