Brumbies excitement machine Henry Speight didn't just leave the Chiefs lamenting a qualifying finals loss.
He left their coach Dave Rennie ruing the one "that got away" after his side's dream of a Super Rugby three-peat came to a crashing end at Canberra Stadium.
It not only avenged last year's grand final defeat for the Brumbies, but booked a semi-final date with grudge rivals the NSW Waratahs next weekend.
There were a total of eight tries scored on Saturday night, and while Speight didn't jag a single one, his freakish running skills dominated post-match discussions.
The Fijian-flyer created defensive headaches for the Chiefs throughout the night, making 186 metres, 13 tackle busts, two linebreaks, three offloads and 13 runs.
And the Chiefs only have themselves to blame.
That's because Speight not only played for Hamilton Boys High School, but went on to represent the Waikato provincial team - the Chiefs' feeder club.
But the previous Chiefs coaching staff "didn't rate" Speight very highly back in 2010-11, according to Rennie, and the Brumbies pounced.
"He got away before I got there, unfortunately," Rennie said after the 32-30 loss.
"We spoke to him when I first got up to Hamilton about trying to get him back. We were pretty keen.
"But it's tough to see him move now."
Tough indeed. Speight is a loyal character, re-signing with the Brumbies for another two years in May, while he'll finally be eligible to play for the Wallabies from September 11.
And Rennie has no doubts he's ready for Test level.
"Oh hell yeah. He's been ready for a while," Rennie said.
"You give him the ball, even with two guys in front of him he's either going to get yardage or skin people.
"He really troubled us."
The only blight on Speight's performance was a 48th minute yellow card for not rolling away from a ruck when the Chiefs were hot on attack.
Despite the Chiefs scoring two of their four tries in his absence, it didn't draw the ire of Brumbies director of rugby Laurie Fisher.
Fisher was full of praise for Speight post match, admitting his side has probably been guilty of not creating enough space for him in previous matches.
"He just seems absolutely motivated at the moment. He makes things out of nothing," Fisher said.
With the Sharks beating the Highlanders overnight, that sets up a scintillating showdown between Speight and the Waratahs' most dangerous weapon Israel Folau at Allianz Stadium next Saturday.
"To play your best two games going into a knockout semi-final is exactly where we want to be," said Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen.
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