A black day that shone superbly

How good was yesterday?

The weather was a stunner, the country was on holiday and we could relax knowing Richie McCaw had the golden trophy in his hands.

Even those black flags that everyone except me managed to buy for their cars before they sold out took on a different meaning.

Yesterday they seemed to say "we are the champions".

No "just four more years" for us.

News on the Rena front was good, too.

Pumping was going to plan and celebrity Phil Keoghan popped up on his home soil, bringing with him the celeb-watching eyes of the world.

Keoghan was hoping his appearance could get Rena back on screens in his new American home.

First The Hoff and now Keoghan.

That's two stars on the Main Beach in one year.

There was no shortage of digitally altered photos coming into our email inboxes yesterday, too.

One of my favourites was the photo of our new hero Stephen Donald with the words "You've done well Piri, I'll take it from here" overlaid.

There was something nice about almost all New Zealanders being able to laugh at the same joke.

And I'm sure Stephen Donald wouldn't mind being their subject.

I popped into downtown Tauranga in the afternoon and Devonport Rd was packed.

Given all the bags people were carrying, hopefully it meant it was a good Labour Day for the city's retailers, too.

There's been much said about how in need of a party New Zealand was given the tragedies that have happened during the past 12 months.

Yes, the party was good. But the breather was better.