Fans of the ACT Brumbies were hoping it would be a different ending to the heartbreak they experienced in Canberra last month, but it was not to be.
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It became a one-point game in the 77th minute, with the score set 20-19 in the Auckland Blues' favour.
The visitors led the game at Canberra Stadium by one point, before a penalty drop kick on the buzzer gave the Blues the win.
Australian rugby fans hoped their last chance could right that wrong, and repay the favour in Auckland.
The Brumbies' final chance to take the game, a drop goal attempt by Noah Lolesio, was blocked by the Blues' defence.
Then referee Ben O'Keeffe awarded a penalty at the buzzer for the home side, and it was all over at Eden Park, allowing the Blues to take a one-point win in the Super Rugby Pacific semi-final.
Leon MacDonald's side's win makes it an all Kiwi final, with the Blues to face the Christchurch Crusaders next week.
Hooper's injury
A Brumbies signature rolling-maul hurt the visitors at Eden Park in more ways than one early in the battle.
They could not capitalise after seven phases, to cross for their second try of the night, and they lost a vital player in the process.
Young right flanker Tom Hooper drove into the Auckland defence 15 minutes into the contest, and reemerged with a dropped right shoulder.
He attempted to play on, and the home side saw their chance, directing their goalline drop out to the injured player.
Hooper, understandably, dropped the ball before Brumbies medical staff raced on to assess him.
Before Luke Reimer was called on, and came on to replace the injured flanker.
Errors plague ACT
It was mistake after mistake in the first 40 minutes.
Missed tackles, line-out errors, counter rucks on breakdowns, knock ons, and scrum penalties plagued the Brumbies after their try.
In numbers it resulted in nine turnovers, 31 missed tackles, four lost line-outs and 10 penalties by full time.
The ACT outfit attempted to slow down the pace of the game but it did not work, and the Blues continued to dictate the tempo of play.
It allowed the Blues to take a 20-7 lead at half-time, making it an uphill battle for the Brumbies in the second.
The Canberra side came out refreshed in the second half and kept the Blues scoreless, clawing back the deficit to within one point.
Before the hope was lost, when the final penalty of the game was given to the home side to end the game.
Re-enforcements prove difference
Lachlan Lonergan, Jahrome Brown, Sosefo Kautai, Ryan Lonergan, Scott Sio, Nick Frost, Hudson Creighton.
These were the names Dan McKellar turned to in the second half, talking all week about the strength of their reinforcements off the bench, and they delivered.
The youngest Lonergan crossed twice, off the club's signature rolling-maul, when he entered the game.
Frost dominated the front line and the older Lonergan directed play well.
Final hoorah
Departing centre Irae Simone left a mark in his final game for the Brumbies before he heads to France.
It only took him two minutes to break the line and cross to get the visitors off to a strong start.
Before it changed, and the 13-point deficit at half-time proved too great a battle for the Brumbies.
The one-point loss in New Zealand marked Tom Banks, Folau Fainga'a and Sio's last in blue and gold. As well as head coach McKellar's, as he moves into a full-time role with the Wallabies.
Sio's minutes in the forward line at Eden Park make him the third-most capped Brumby in history, with more than 140 games in an ACT jersey.
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Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
