It's fair to say after a brutal NPC final and a big night of celebrations, the Wellington Lions were a little worse for wear on their arrival back home.
But there was no hiding their pride as the trophy emerged from the plane this afternoon.
The 26-18 win equalling the efforts of the class of 2000, also on Canterbury soil.
Among the heroes that day were Jonah Lomu, Tana Umaga, Jerry Collins, Christian Cullen and Rodney So'oialo to name a few.
"It's pretty surreal when you mention those names next to ours," says Jackson Garden-Bachop.
"This is something that'll sink in through the rest of our careers and further on when we finish."
"We probably don't really see ourselves like that aye, those guys are legends of our club," says TJ Perenara.
"For us they're people we look up to so to even be in the conversation with those people is humbling for us especially the older boys in the group because we know how much they meant to the game," says the halfback.
A game that they seemed to be in control of for most of the contest.
Wellington's two tries in the first half showcased their attacking flair and individual brilliance.
"I think what was the real difference was that we had real firepower, they're a good structure and unit but we just beat with our real individual talent," says Dominic Bird.
The lock knows a thing or two about winning NPC finals, he was part of the Canterbury team that last won it in 2017.
"They're predictable and very structured but you don't need to be an insider to know that," says Bird.
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