KEY POINTS:
Just for a second, it looked as if Ali Williams was going to let his lip tremble and provide a watery outlet for the turbulent cocktail of emotion raging inside him.
Williams, still wearing his scarlet kit, stood outside the home changing room at AMI Stadium, and revealed
that playing the blokes holed up across the corridor had been the most emotional game of his career.
"I haven't played rugby for that long, but I have learned a lot from those guys," he said of the Blues team he played five seasons for.
"So to play against them was one of the most emotional games of my life. I have played some pretty tough games but emotionally that was the toughest I have played."
Clearly Williams' mid-week antic of dressing up in a Spiderman suit masked the apprehension the 26-year-old was feeling about facing his former franchise.
His decision to sign for Tasman before the World Cup last year was not an easy one to make. He loved playing for Auckland, but wasn't so keen on the Blues, where he had fallen foul of team protocol, infamously being sent home from South Africa.
He saw coach David Nucifora as his nemesis, left under a cloud and the hype built about the reunion all week. Would he come in for some special treatment? Would he see Nucifora after the game?
"Mates know you inside out and they challenge you physically," said Williams.
"In the first 10 minutes I knew I was playing against some of my best mates.
"I think there was probably some relief to have got it out of the way. There was a lot of hype about a lot of rubbish. It is not about the Blues and where they are. To be honest I would like to see them in the final and for them to do well but for us to do a little bit better.
"I came down here for certain reasons. [The Crusaders] offered me a lot and hopefully in turn I am offering a lot."
He can rest easy on that front. Williams was the dominant figure at lineout time, doing his bit to disrupt seven Blues throws.
He also gave one of his better, tighter performances, hitting rucks hard and using his physical presence at the breakdown.
Which is why the relief Williams felt wasn't confined just to the fact an emotionally difficult game was behind him.
There must also be some relief that given the result and its implications he's not involved once again in a campaign falling short of the mark.
