The weekend may be over but last Friday night's Super Rugby in Waverley will be a night to remember for a long time.
It was no ordinary rugby game. Local farmers brought trailers to use as grandstands and haybales outlined the field for front-row seating. Gumboots, Swanndris and any garment black and yellow seemed to be the general attire for the match.
Hawera Hurricanes supporter Steve Fraser said pre-match he expected the Hurricanes to win on their home territory.
"There's no red in this crowd ... do you see red in the crowd ... it's going to be a good game for the Hurricanes I think," Mr Fraser said.
A close game between the Crusaders and Hurricanes gave the crowd a match to get engrossed in; although it was the Canterbury team who came out on top in the first half, the black and yellows prevailed at the end, winning 33-27.
The pouring rain and lack of cover didn't stop the thousands of fans from cheering for their team.
Rosie Thomson - a rugby fanatic and supporter of the Hurricanes team- said she was pleased to be at the game as there's a lot of hype around rugby in her family.
"I remember father-daughter nights always being spent watching the rugby ... my brother is a staunch Crusaders fan so there is always a bit of banter going on ... I give him a hard time when the Hurricanes win but I have to drink when the Crusaders beat us,"
Shayna Dreaver sat on a haybale with her daughter Maddisyn waiting in anticipation for the game to start.
"It's a great turn out and I think we are all behind the Hurricanes ... I'm excited to see my partner play and I think he ... as well as the rest of the team will do really well," Ms Dreaver said.
It was a special match for the three south Taranaki Barrett brothers. Beauden and Jordie Barrett played together for the first time against their other brother Scott Barrett in Crusaders.
Scott Cade from Whanganui said he expected the Hurricanes to play well but it all depended on whether the Barrett brothers did well.
"I'm looking forward to seeing them play together, I've never seen them play live ... it's going to be awesome," Mr Cade said.
Waverley local Sally Train said it had brought all the community together and it had certainly put Waverley on the map for a major rugby game.