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Even a decade on, the image is easy to recall. Hours after the Crusaders had claimed their first Super Rugby crown, captain Todd Blackadder was wandering round the enemy lair at Eden Park delivering post-mortem interviews about the shock result.
Blackadder carried a disarming but potent mix of
self-effacing thoughts on the game, the result and the future. Even he could accept his raw, grafting side had beaten the odds to secure victory against a Blues side so laden in talent that hooker James Christian was the only non-All Black.
The Crusaders pushed on since, while the Blues have only once pushed their heads to the top of the parapet. A sketch of Blackadder's subsequent career included ascension to All Black captain, a crossover between playing and coaching in Scotland, a move back to Nelson and assistant work at the hip of Robbie Deans with the victorious Crusaders last year.
Now Blackadder is in charge. He has done his time on the apprentice trail - he was in no rush, he wanted to learn all about what makes a professional rugby franchise tick from dealing with agents, players' contracts, sponsorships, stadium trusts, annual memberships, lack of patronage, player difficulties, you name it.
Blackadder rolled his sleeves up and attacked all those issues as part of the portfolio he knew he had to accumulate before he coached the Crusaders.
The 37-year-old Blackadder spent a chunk of his early summer sorting out his maiden speech to the Crusaders. It had to be meaningfully succinct, stimulating and emotional. And in-house. This was a time for Blackadder and his troops to be on their own, united but in their world, as they need to be when they defend their title this season.
"1998 was a real starting point for us as a franchise," Blackadder recalled. "The support we got that season really galvanised us because we could see that people really could identify with us. We had been at the bottom and we were looking for a response from all the players, we had to have the psychology to turn the corner. The coaches and the support staff all believed in us, we were well coached, well drilled and we believed in ourselves.
"The road to that final are still some of my best memories at the start of my career. It was the start of the Crusaders as we know them these days."
"We were against the ropes in that game, there was so much pressure. We led by a slender margin at one stage then it was all tied up and then we got that last try. It was tough, it was finals footy, it was about having the mental strength to last the distance."
Blackadder trawled through those memories as part of his research for his maiden coaching speech to the Crusaders about the four-month slog through heat, travel, injuries, obstacles, rain, refereeing mysteries and quality rivals to find the Super 14 champions at the end of May.
He knew he had to get the tone and message at the right level. In retrospect, Blackadder was satisfied with his delivery and the impact. It was meant to be all-empowering and all-inclusive. It was not about Blackadder, not about the coaches' expectations but more about what the franchise deserved and expected. Did that include the pressure of the Crusaders' legacy?
"There is always pressure as a top professional team to perform and do the business," Blackadder replied. "It is an expectation but also an opportunity. No one person sees it as the same thing but there are chances there for everyone.
"If there is one thing I have learned down the years it is that players have to see this sort of series as an opportunity. They can't see it as a burden because trying to recreate the past is not possible. We are the 2009 Crusaders. And if there is one thing I can assure you it is that we are not a one-person show, we all have to contribute. I have still got to run the ship but we are all accumulating knowledge and experiences as we go."
It has been easy in recent seasons to think of the Crusaders as a two-man team when they have had the imperious talents of captain and flanker Richie McCaw and the masterful direction of goalkicking first five-eighths Daniel Carter to lean on. Two genuine superstars of the modern game and both in the same team.
McCaw is still on duty but Carter was released this season to play for Toulon until injury derailed that intention.
Colin Slade has picked up the initial first five-eighths baton for tomorrow's start against the Chiefs in what may be the first of Blackadder's shrewd selection choices. Brett may carry more of the excitement factor but Slade has looked to have an uncommonly measured strategic direction in his play.
"We have been fortunate to have had the remarkable Carter but this year is no different from other times in the Crusaders' history. Mehrtens was the best five-eighths in the world and when he went people were all wondering what we would do.
"Carter stepped into his shoes quite magnificently and now that he is not there this season, it will be someone else's turn especially with an All Black jersey up for grabs," Blackadder said.
The Crusaders always played a certain style and the coach said he and his assistants, Mark Hammett and Daryl Gibson, would look to complement that successful template.
Since his playing days, Blackadder has immersed himself in as many aspects of rugby as he could. He struggled with some administrative aspects but knew he had to understand all sorts of topics to connect properly with rugby followers.
But he did not lose sight of his coaching ambition.
"I love it. It is hard to put the handbrake on when you get immersed in this job, when you are involved in something you really want to do."
So how ambitious was Blackadder, how hard was his ego pushing him?
"It's nothing like that. Don't confuse it with that," was his response. "It is one small step at a time because I am very aware of all the sorts of pitfalls there are, how difficult it is. You have to have a lot of self-awareness, that is critically important, and I listen an awful lot to all sorts of mentors."
The job was hugely demanding on his family and while his wife and children were heavily indoctrinated in sport, they also brought a balance and perspective to his life.
"My time management has got a great deal better, I have got my priorities sorted out and I have to make sure I stick to those.
"We have lost eight All Blacks from last season but that sort of thing has been a constant down the years. We have to build and keep the machine rolling and this Crusaders organisation is used to that. It is not a burden, it is an opportunity."
"We are excited about this Super 14 season," Blackadder said. "There have been some tough economic times but we can't be worried about that. Instead we want to give our supporters and players something they can be proud of."
