NZ Rugby is breathing a sigh of relief, now that new life has been restored into Super Rugby Pacific.
The competition had arguably its most intriguing weekend in recent memory, with close games and Australian wins creating interest at a time when it was waning.
Even the New Zealand teams are celebrating the revival.
"It was an awesome for fans to get a glimpse into the vision we've always had for this competition," says NZ Rugby professional rugby general manager Chris Lendrum.
Last year, Australian Super Rugby teams managed just two wins against New Zealand opposition all season - they've surpassed that in the space of a week.
For the first time in eight years, two Kiwi sides lost to Aussie counterparts in the same weekend, as Fijian Drua hosted a game for the first time.
You can hear the celebrations on both sides of the Tasman.
"It gives us confidence," says Wallabies coach Dave Rennie. "It gives our players confidence playing against some of the best players in the world and they can stand up."
Says Highlanders first-five Mitch Hunt: "In the bigger picture of things, it's probably great for the fans, the people watching at home and everyone else."
But not just the results, also the style of play, with boring, drawn-out kick fests replaced by captivating, running rugby.
"It's been exciting to just see subtle, little changes in terms of their strengths and what they're going to bring, and how we're going to nullify those," said Highlanders skills coach Riki Flutey.
Also tight scorelines - even when New Zealand teams won, the margins were by no means a walloping. The Brumbies' trampling of the Hurricanes was the only match decided by more than four points.
With three New Zealand sides back home this week, NZ Rugby hopes the attention and interest will translate into bigger crowds.
"We don't want to say we're the finished article there yet at all," said Lendrum. "But just playing each other week in, week out is going to make all boats rise."
The predictability has been kicked into touch and the uncertainty of Super Rugby has returned to the field.
Join us next weekend for live updates of the NZ Super Rugby Pacific games
