The Crusaders have given Richie Mo'unga a win in his 100th game for the Canterbury Super Rugby franchise although they were made to work by a vastly-improved Moana Pasifika outfit looking to rain on their parade.
Scott Robertson's men responded to a halftime deficit with 21 unanswered points in the second half to seal the 38-21 victory although both that statistic and the overall scoreline don't reflect the challenge that was presented this evening.
Mo'unga showed moments of his usual playmaking brilliance in the contest but uncharacteristic errors from his side and some phases of lacklustre defence made the contest the opposite of what many punters had the match circled as.
Sure, it wasn't the Crusaders' No.1 side but in amongst the young faces were some seasoned veterans who will be just as upset with some areas of the match - their discipline, lineouts and ball handling, especially - as coach Robertson.
That isn't to take away from Moana Pasifika either, though. The Pacific franchise have said their goal week in and week out so far this winless season is to be better than they were last week and they set next week's side a high benchmark to beat.
After Mo’unga ran out ahead of his team with his two children beside him tonight for his 100th game, what unfolded from there was perhaps the least Crusaders-like first half he may have ever experienced.
After a starring role setting up longtime teammate Codie Taylor for the opening try of the night, the Crusaders went off the boil and were made to pay by a Moana Pasifika outfit clearly up for the contest.
There was quick ball, straight running and a little bit of flair but it wasn’t coming from the defending champions.
Instead it was the visitors, spearheaded by rampaging midfielder Levi Aumua and equally-impactful wing Timoci Tavatavanawai, who were taking control of the game.
Aumua struck to pull his side back to within three points 21 minutes into the contest before the door was blown open by a Tavatavanawai intercept.
The Fijian speedster looked to run away to score but was brought down just short by Corey Kellow who then killed the ball and was handed a yellow card for it.
Up a man and with momentum, Tavatavanawai made another strong run before handing the ball off to Aumua to finish the play and give their side an unexpected 14-10 lead.
As Kellow watched on from the naughty chair, the Crusaders did their best to navigate seemingly unfamiliar territory as Moana Pasifika continued to play with their tails up but there is a reason this side have won six straight titles and they took their moment to strike with one of their biggest weapons.
After earning a penalty for offside play, the Crusaders turned down the three points on offer and kicked for the corner.
The ensuing maul worked to perfection with Taylor dropping to the deck on the line for his second of the night and another lead change.
But unlike many opposition before them, Moana Pasifika still sensed an opportunity in the final moments of the half – and they took to perfection.
After winning a short restart, Moana Pasifika pulled out all the stops in a superb passage of play full of Pacific flair. Hard runs, offloads, passes bounced along the ground; the exciting 11 phases ended up with none other than Tavatavanawai finally being rewarded for his hard work and with it an unexpected 21-17 lead at the half.
There were likely some firm words in the sheds at the break because the Crusaders came out looking like a different side after it, immediately setting up camp inside Moana Pasifika's half and gaining an early advantage from it with Moana Pasifika's Michael Curry also sin-binned for cynical play.
Moana Pasifika did well to fend off the initial pressure as the Crusaders again went to their set piece but some more Mo'unga magic eventually saw those defensive efforts crumble as his pinpoint kick into the visitors' 22 bounced up for David Havili before an offload to young lock Dom Gardner sealed the impressive try.
After Moana Pasifika missed a chance to level the score through a long range penalty, the Crusaders made them pay heavily with another superb team try finished off by Dallas McLeod.
The game looked over from there with both sides coughing up the ball but one last piece of brilliance - this time from former Blues star Melani Nanai in his first appearance for the Crusaders off the bench - allowed Willi Heinz to go over and with it, Mo'unga got the final say with a conversion after the hooter.
A fitting finish to an otherwise unexpected evening.
Crusaders 38 [Codie Taylor 2, Dom Gardner, Dallas McLeod, Willi Heinz tries; Richie Mo'unga 5 con, 1 pen]
Moana Pasifika 21 [Levi Aumua 2, Timoci Tavatavanawai tries; Lincoln McClutchie 3 con]
HT: 17-21
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