The sight of local boy Adam Blair being mobbed in Whangarei or Shaun Johnson playing tag with local school kids in Dunedin will live long in the memory of those who were there.
It's also been an opportunity for many players to perform on their home patch. Before this tournament, Kieran Foran had never turned out for his country on these shores. Neither had the likes of Dean Whare, Lewis Brown, Kevin Proctor or Tohu Harris (whose father drove up from Hamilton for last week's game).
The team have also seemed more relaxed and did some motor racing in Cromwell during a couple of days in Queenstown last week.
"Just to be looking at our own crowd and doing the national anthem ... it gives you goose bumps," said Jesse Bromwich. "I'm used to being overseas when we pull on the black-and-white jersey and we really like being back in New Zealand."
The intense "Kiwis, Kiwis" chant at Toll Stadium last week brought back memories of Carlaw Park in the 1980s, as a passionate crowd willed the team home.
Some games during the 2008 World Cup and 2010 Four Nations were held in New Zealand, but the last full tournament here (group games and final) was the Tri-Nations back in 1999.
"It's a unique feeling," said Foran, who has 17 tests to his name. "I haven't had the luxury of doing it in my career. We seem to play all our test matches over in the [United Kingdom] or Australia. It's great to be back on home soil."
It may also be seen as a turning point for the game. Last week felt like one, with almost 17,000 turning out in a provincial city for a league test.
Sure, there were a few bus loads from Auckland but it was still a staggering crowd from a city of 54,000, especially considering just over 20,000 attended the Australia-England test in Melbourne.
