Government types had spent all day spruiking a new line of direct flights from Canberra to Fiji - and there were times you sensed the Fijian Drua couldn't board one quick enough.
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Then there were moments they dazzled rugby fans and gave the ACT Brumbies serious headaches - only for Ben O'Donnell's hat-trick to secure a 43-28 win in front of 8188 at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.
For all the wondering about whether the Drua could really beat Australia's best team on the road, or whether they have the discipline to be a consistent threat, one thing about the Brumbies is certain: they are on top of the ladder, if only for a night.
Stephen Larkham's side will be bumped out of top spot after the Hurricanes meet the Chiefs - the two highest-ranked New Zealand-based sides - in Wellington on Saturday night.
But come the end of the weekend, the Brumbies will still sit above the highly-fancied Crusaders and Blues, two sides most struggled to split when picking a competition winner before a ball had been kicked.
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And the Drua? Who knows what kind of problems they could cause in the finals, having already beaten the Crusaders before pushing the Brumbies to the brink.
"We've shown growth in our game. We've spoken a lot about where we can improve our game, and we'll take a bit out of this game as well, where we can improve - potentially defensively," Larkham said.
"I thought there were some really good passages in attack. We're certainly happy with where we're at in terms of the table, but we come out of the bye and we've got the Hurricanes, the Rebels and the Highlanders.
"It doesn't get any easier for us. Every team isn't as high on the ladder as they want to are also improving. We've still got work to do."
The Brumbies needed less than four minutes to break their duck, with O'Donnell scooting between a pair of Drua defenders for the home side's first try.
He followed it up with a try-saving intercept and then jagged a second try soon after. In between all of that? Another would-be five-pointer that could only be stopped by the television match official after it was pulled up for a forward pass.
As thrilling as former sevens star Corey Toole has been this year, the Brumbies lose nothing in O'Donnell. Nor do they lose out when Test-capped hooker Billy Pollard replaces Wallabies rake Lachlan Lonergan, or when veteran Nic White pushes Ryan Lonergan out of the scrumhalf duties.
But depth will only get you so far. Ill-discipline stung the Brumbies as the Drua finally managed to break a line left depleted by a yellow card to Darcy Swain.
Andy Muirhead joined Swain in the bin on the stroke of half-time and suddenly the Fijians had their tails up, with flyhalf Teti Tela squeezing through a 13-man defensive line to close the gap from 19 to just five heading into the break.
Order looked to be restored on the other side of the break via a rolling maul try to hooker Lonergan. But two scintillating tries - first to Iosefo Masi, then to Kalaveti Ravouvou - ensured the Fijian fans in bay 72 were in raptures with the deficit cut to three.
Those around them? The heart rate went up just a little bit - until a penalty try gave the Brumbies some breathing room and then O'Donnell finished off his three piece feed.
"We're quite confident as a footy side that when we put it together, we can beat any team on our given day. We just took a little bit of time before we decided we would start playing," Drua skipper Teti Tela said.
"I back my boys any day of the week to score tries, it's just the other side of the ball when we've got to hold our discipline and keep level heads. The Brumbies are a good side. They're quite clinical if you're giving them too many penalties."
That the Brumbies are the only Australian team that looks a realistic shake of troubling the best from across the Tasman will not be lost on Eddie Jones. More than a third of the Wallabies coach's first squad of the year come from a Brumby farm in Bruce - but you have to wonder what Jones made of this thriller.
AT A GLANCE
Super Rugby Pacific round eight: ACT BRUMBIES 43 (Ben O'Donnell 3, Pete Samu, Lachlan Lonergan, Andy Muirhead, penalty tries, Noah Lolesio 3 conversions) bt FIJIAN DRUA 28 (Peni Matawalu, Teti Tela, Iosefo Masi, Kalaveti Ravouvou tries; Tela 4 conversions) at Canberra Stadium.
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Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
