North Harbour 7 Waikato 52
KEY POINTS:
They came, they saw, they conquered, although Waikato's foray to the North Shore was more akin to a Viking rather then Roman raid.
This was a rape-and-pillage mission where Waikato stripped Harbour first of their dignity and then of the Ranfurly Shield - and they fully intend to spend most of this morning making sure the rest of the country knows they have it.
This was more than comprehensive - it was record score for a challenger. And they have it in their grasp for the first time since 2000 because they had too much grunt and control up front for Harbour and were so clinical with their half chances.
Rugby is nothing more than a game of collisions, a simple science project where players take on the role of fractured molecules and those who hit into others with the most force and momentum tend to win.
Last night that was Waikato, who had obviously decided the morning-tea-with-granny mindset they took on their last trip to Auckland was never going to get the business done.
They were more midnight at the docks, searching for trouble and never flinching from confrontation. The old timers, Marty Holah and Steven Bates, were riding in the front of the van, using their vast experience to pilfer and protect and to smash them, smash them, smash them.
It became all too common to see Waikato simply outmuscle Harbour at the breakdown. Harbour would take the ball in, do everything right and then whoomph, the striped jerseys would fly in and before anyone knew what was happening, Harbour forwards were being spat out the back and possession was Waikato's.
The pressure was just as intense at scrum time where Waikato put a real squeeze on, wary of Harbour's desire to launch Nick Williams into the midfield direct from the base.
The home side couldn't get steady enough and Williams, like the rest of his team-mates, was barely seen and sadly never seen in the second half after succumbing to injury.
Losing their skipper was a major blow but it was no turning point. It wasn't as if Harbour had been in it up until then. They hit the break 24-0 down and highly geared finance companies were looking better bets.
Not only were Waikato in charge up front, they were that bit sharper out wide, more aware of the need to make any half break count.
It was exactly that awareness which led to the opening try. David Bason, looking eerily like Brendon Leonard, spotted no one home on a short blindside so he took off and kept running.
James Kamana was quick enough to realise it was all on and he collected the inside pass and cantered away. Holah and Bates used their experience to pop up in the right places at the right times for Waikato's other two first half tries and with the faultless boot of Stephen Donald adding the extras, the fat lady was clearing her throat.
She started singing when Roy Kinikinilau was on the end of some slick passing which featured Liam Messam.
Seeing Messam coast into the backline provided a paradoxical reminder as to why he was doing just that and not wondering what is currently en vogue on the streets of Paris this year.
He thundered on to the ball with the pace and poise of an outside back but also the physique and while he has proven plenty of times he can mix it in the tight, there must presumably still be concerns as to whether he is quite big enough for test rugby.
Harbour shouldn't be too down on themselves this morning. They were better value than the scoreline suggests and the union's bottom line will be looking a lot healthier after finally persuading the North Shore to leave the safety of their beachfront enclaves.
Their defence was short and not particularly sweet but to mangle the words of Shakespeare, it is surely better to have defended and to have lost than to have never defended at all?
Maybe, although there will be plenty of people waking this morning with an infernal ringing in their ears after enduring a cacophony of cowbells and they might just be wishing they had never clapped eyes on the blessed Shield.
North Harbour 7 (J. McPhee try; J. McPhee con), Waikato 52 (J. Kamana, M. Holah, S. Bates 2, R. Kinikinilau, S. Donald, R. Hansell-Pune tries; S. Donald 7 cons, pen). Ht: 0-24.
