"In saying that, the runs on the board in a final is the key and we weren't able to defend the total."
The 29-year-old from Wairarapa said the Firebirds were clinical in pinpointing stages of the game to go after CD bowlers in successfully chasing down the total, making 249-5 with three balls to spare.
The winning shot came off a Rance delivery in the third last ball of the innings as Matt Taylor, 31 not out, prodded at a wide yorker to find the boundary after Wellington needed seven from the last over.
"As we all know it's hard to defend six an over for the last 10 overs," said Rance, who won a lot of respect from the batsmen. But, in the middle patch, bowlers paid the price for not finding line and length.
Allrounder Kieran Noema-Barnett and new-ball rookie Blair Tickner took two wickets each but spinners Ajaz Patel and George Worker didn't have it their way.
Rookie seamer Navin Patel was wicketless but relatively frugal.
He refrained from labelling Wellington their bogey side, considering the Firebirds broke their hearts in the Super Smash Twenty20 final in New Plymouth last month, preferring to see it as playing a team on their merits.
"They just happened to have beaten us twice."
Medium pacer Anurag Verma was again a thorn in the CD side, taking 4-49 from 10 overs, including a maiden, as well as executing two run outs.
"He got lucky wickets but you've still got to get them."
It sounded frighteningly familiar to the sentiments CD allrounder George Worker expressed in round two of the one-day campaign at McLean Park, Napier, when Verma claimed a five-wicket bag to help propel the Firebirds to a four-wicket victory.
Opening batsman Worker again was the rock of CD's innings with 85 runs before No4 Young chimed in with 57 from 60 balls. The only other notable contributor was No6 Joshua Clarkson with 42 from 33 balls.
"He [Worker] is very unlucky not to make that Black Caps side," said Rance, who himself has had no joy at all with a taste of international cricket despite racking up figures season after season in white ball - although he won't be this season after missing a few games.
"It's quite disappointing to see him miss out again because he's performed quite consistently with the bat and ball for us throughout the season."
Rance, a swing bowler, will continue with the collective next week when the four-day Plunket Shield campaign resumes before jetting back to England to play club cricket with Furness who he played for last winter.
He also has entered the auction for the Caribbean T20 league for the first time but will leave for England in late April.
"It's time for me to put my hand up to explore other options out there ... you don't know until you put your name in the hat."
Rance said it was definitely not a dead end for him here and the move wasn't a sideways one but one to keep his Black Caps dreams on the cards.
"I've just got to keep playing cricket while I can."