Bledisloe classics, there have been a few. Jonah Lomu's match-winner in the Sydney 2000 epic. The John Eales penalty the same year in Wellington. Toutai Kefu's try. George Gregan's tackle on Jeff Wilson. Last year conjured a doozy, too. Not the par-for-the-course Eden Park flogging. You remember, the one at Marvel Stadium, with the never-seen-before time wasting decision.
French referee Mathieu Raynal etched his presence into Bledisloe folklore when he determined Wallabies playmaker Bernard Foley was deliberately - and persistently - time wasting at the death.
The Wallabies had surged back from a 31-13 deficit with three second-half tries to stand on the brink of an unthinkable upset triumph. With victory seemingly in their grasp, after repelling an attempted maul to win a penalty on their line, Raynal shocked all in sundry by awarding the All Blacks a free kick after losing patience with repeatedly telling Foley "we play now".
The All Blacks packed a scrum, went to the blindside where Will Jordan offloaded to send Jordie Barrett in at the corner. Boos rang out around the stadium. The All Blacks celebrated wildly. The Wallabies were stunned.
Ten months on it's worth reflecting whether Raynal set a precedent - or if he merely acted on a whim.
While the movement within rugby is to reduce stoppages, dead time and keep ball in play as much as possible, the truth of the matter is Raynal's decision was largely motivated by a grudge, or perceived slight, by Foley earlier in last year's memorable Melbourne match.
One of the Wallabies' second-half tries to Andrew Kellaway should not have stood - following a clear forward pass. Raynal was in the process of checking the pass with his television match official when Foley, knowing full well the try was likely to be scrubbed out, hurriedly slotted the conversion. Raynal oddly thought he had no choice but to then restart play and confirm the try - but he did not let that incident slide.
Herein lies the crux of the later time-wasting decision.
Call it revenge or levelling the ledger, perhaps. Raynal sure had the final say.
More broadly rugby is, however, fast attempting to embrace the need for speed.
Super Rugby Pacific this year set the blueprint with a series of law reforms that included time limits for conversions (90 seconds), penalty kicks (60sec), scrums and lineouts (30sec) and for the ball to be used at rucks (sec).
TMOs could only interrupt play for serious and obvious foul play - and adopting an eight-minute off-field review system for incidents to be assessed on a yellow or red card threshold stopped referees standing around watching endlessly replays on big screens at match venues.
All told, these changes removed as much as six minutes of dead time from games. Through Super Rugby's first four rounds points per game jumped from 53 to 61 - the most in the competition's history.
Most, if not all, fans would agree these are positive, proactive steps to improve the on-field product and viewing experience.
The World Cup is set to adopt the same bunker style card review system but it is unclear at this stage whether the other shot clock measures will be ushered in for the global showpiece.
Compared to other nations such as the traditionally forward-dominated Springboks and England, teams that would happily trudge from set-piece to set-piece, the All Blacks and Wallabies generally attempt to play with vastly greater pace and tempo.
New Zealand and Australia's inherent style is largely centred on their desire to use the ball. That's not to say the All Blacks, since Jason Ryan's introduction as forwards coach last year, anyway, can't again mix it with the world's best packs. Their objective in doing so, though, is to generate lightning quick ball and aerobically stress opposition at every turn.
With neither the Wallabies nor All Blacks driven by a desire to slow the pace this week's Bledisloe battle at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground should, therefore, be another spectacle to savour.
For all their respective attacking qualities, though, Rob Valetini, Will Skelton, James Slipper and the Wallabies face a daunting task attempting to quell the reformed All Blacks pack that crushed the Pumas and blew the Boks away with an opening quarter blitz to fire a pre-World Cup warning.
Maybe it's their one-from-three record at the MCG, their four losses in Australia in previous World Cup years, or Eddie Jones' ability to summon a backs-to-the-wall response. Whatever the case, the All Blacks are certainly wary of a Wallabies ambush.
"It is a special venue. They're talking 80,000 so it'll be a helluva occasion," Ryan noted this week. "Australian rugby and the All Blacks is a great rivalry. We're looking forward to the Bledisloe Cup and everything it's about.
"One thing we know about the Australians and their mindset is they'll keep trying. They aren't going to go away but we aren't either so we're looking forward to that contest."
With Wayne Barnes in charge, a Raynal-esque time-wasting decision is unlikely to be repeated, either.