Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Manu Samoa, perhaps a little nervous in the first half, suddenly found themselves in the second and it was game on.
Serious game on because, for most of the last 30 minutes, they owned the All Blacks. They were better in all the key areas and as their confidence surged, the passes started to go to hand, the running lines became natural rather than contrived and they had belief.
They also had the All Blacks on the ropes. Few teams have rattled the All Blacks quite like this in the last four years but Samoa just wouldn't relent.
Whatever Samoa are striving to be as they embrace a more professional set-up, they won't lose the essence of themselves. They are, still, the greatest warrior team on the planet.
No one tackles quite like they do. No team has that same thunderous approach. Not even the All Blacks.
Their tackling was, frankly, terrifying - the one-on-one hits were off the scale. George Moala, on debut, made the rather poor choice of tilting his lance as it were at the over-sized Alesana Tuilagi.
The big Samoan has the turning circle of a Honda Odyssey so, typically, the best ploy in trying to avoid his full 130kg of particular carnage is to apply some kind of dodging tactic.
Moala obviously didn't get the memo or, more worryingly, work out after the first time he was sent 5m back, not to run the same line again a few minutes later.
Tuilagi's hits were brutal, but there were plenty of others who were phenomenal.
There was no doubt a few All Blacks became a little edgy after 20 minutes - scanning for the blue jersey that was going to fly in.
It was much the same at the breakdown where Samoa gave as good, maybe even better, than they got. Their discipline was largely good and their technique, awareness and understanding of when to commit was up there with the best teams in the world.
The pity was that Samoa sacrificed accuracy for passion. While they rattled the All Blacks with their defensive punch and presence at the collision, they couldn't screw the nut tighter.
Twice Tusi Pisi, with a stiff breeze at his back, couldn't find touch from penalties. Their lineout wobbled and their scrum creaked and, with that, came penalty opportunities for the All Blacks and Daniel Carter.
This was his type of game - a test of his nerve and temperament and he nailed it. It was his six penalties that won the All Blacks the test. New Zealand needed to take the points when they were offer, they needed a settling influence - a calm head and measured boot to nudge the scoreboard into the right place. That was Carter.
Amid the mayhem of the tackled ball area and the ferocity that was everywhere, Carter gave the All Blacks shape and direction and just enough cohesion to sneak home.
What felt more important, though, was that, while the scoreboard said the All Blacks had won, really, everyone had won.
The All Blacks could play a lifetime of June tests against the likes of Wales and England and not one would connect like this. Rugby is so intent to work its way into new territories and yet they have what is effectively an untouched haven in the Pacific.
No one wants less of this type of rugby. How could they? Who, regardless of whether they had seen the game played before, wouldn't have been memorised by the physicality and intensity?
It took the All Blacks a lifetime to come to Apia. It can't take a lifetime for them to return.
Manu Samoa 16 (A. Faosiliva try; T. Pisi con, 3 pens)
All Blacks 25 (G. Moala try; D. Carter con, 6 pens).
Halftime 3-12.
