All Blacks prop Ben Franks has revealed he thought Hawke's Bay had lost the Ranfurly Shield challenge when the final whistle sounded in Dunedin yesterday.
The Magpies ended a 44-year drought without the Log o' Wood, edging Otago 20-19 at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Franks told RadioSport he was pretty glum after the final whistle.
"I thought we were down by one point so when the whistle went I was like 'ohhh we've lost' and then I looked up and saw the boys were jumping up and down so it took me a few seconds to realise we'd won the game.''
Franks has rejoined the All Blacks squad in Hamilton to prepare for this weekend's Rugby Championship Test against Argentina.
