IT wasn't the finish Nili Latu or his Steamers teammates wanted, but at the end of Saturday's 46-14 quarterfinal loss to Auckland, they could still hold heads high.
And none were higher than Latu's gleaming brown dome, sheened with sweat after 80 honest minutes of harassing his opponents with harrowing contempt.
Unlike his teammates, however, Latu wasn't just reflecting on the Eden Park defeat, the scale of which owed more to the frivolous froth of the manic Auckland tactics than any resounding Bay collapse.
Latu was also reflecting on four proud years in blue and gold, which most likely ended on Saturday.  After 42 madcap games, his Bay of Plenty roots have been pulled.

"I'm waiting for Super 14 selection and if I don't get in, today will be my last game for the Bay," Latu said.  "Even if I do get in to Super 14, it will probably still be my last game because of the World Cup.
"It's been a great four years for me with the Bay, with everything I've learned, and I've been so proud to be pat of it."
Next year's World Cup will take most test players out of the domestic rugby scene from July onwards, and Latu was the captain of Tonga this year.
With his fearless bravado and gleaming gold teeth, the 24-year-old openside flanker has developed something of a cult following.  Over the last four years, his play has summed up the Steamers nicely.
He's hard and nuggety, shows flashes of brilliance, sometimes goes missing for 10mins at a time, and with a couple of extra inches, could compete with the big boys.
Unfortunately, one of Auckland's multiple personalities utilised on Saturday was the Harlem Globetrotter model, and for a while Latu and his comrades could only stand and gape.
"We thought they were going to take us up front first but their backs - Dougy (Howlett) and Sam (Tuitupou) and those guys - just spread us wide.
"We showed a bit of ticker to come back to 14-15 at halftime but they stepped it up after the break. Give them a half chance and they're gone."
Bay put together two sweet tries in the first spell to claw back into the game and for 20 fruitless minutes of the second spell hammered into the stiff Eden Park breeze, threatening the Auckland line with guile and pluck.
Then the slumbering Auckland ogre shook off is hangover, monstered four lightening tries, and put the matter to rest.
Bay let themselves down with poor body positioning at crucial times, shaky flank defence, and the inability to conjure up freakish pace and sublime ball skills on a whim.
Apart from that, they were quite good.
Mark Sorenson was outstanding around the field, Cory Aporo's showcased his rare ability to stand and continue running in tackles and Colin Bourke was inventive and effective.  It would be a tragedy if either of these three missed Super 14 contracts.
Latu, meanwhile, is more relaxed about those prospects.  He briefly considered making himself unavailable for the draft and banking solely on a Chiefs contract but has changed his mind in the last week.
"I've got a young family and I wanted to think about my future. Since I've played for Tonga, it's opened a few doors but it's made my selection hard for Super 14.  I had to weigh it up."
Ironically, his Chiefs place is tipped to go to his young teammate and openside rival Tanerau Latimer.  It's a measure of Latu that he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Tanerau's a young player but he's going to be great.  It's funny - he asks me lots of questions but we're both learning heaps off each other.
"When you work hard for something, you want to see success come out of it.  I've seen that success in the last four years because the players have wanted to play for each other, and to push each other to the next level. If we get people making Super 14, it will be great for the union and great for club rugby and it will make the whole rugby scene strong."
Steamers captain Ben Castle will miss his Steamers and Chiefs teammate if he does depart for richer overseas climes.
"Nili's been outstanding.  He's got a cult following through New Zealand and he's mad.  He's an outstanding footballer who can turn nothing into something and the something he creates might be a big tackle or a turnover or a break through the middle.
"He's been an awesome team man and an awesome player and it really will be unfortunate if he does go, but the great thing about Nili is that he's been working really hard with Lats this year. Those guys have a great working relationship together and if Lats can takes Nili's mantle, he'll be awesome as well."

Story with thanks to the Bay of Plenty Times