At the Galpharm Stadium.
The scenes inside the England dressing room shortly after the final whistle on Saturday evening told their own story.
Tony Smith's team had just defeated world champions New Zealand to reach the final of the Four Nations and the normally reserved England coach appeared to be leading the victory song as his charges joined him and stamped their studs on the ground.
Smith raised his arms in triumph, another unusually extrovert gesture, as the singing finished - but it would take a mean-spirited person to deny the likeable Australian his brief display of celebration.
The 42-year-old's reputation was at its lowest point 12 months ago after England's dismal World Cup campaign down under. His team left home with great expectations but mustered only a solitary win over Papua New Guinea before a thrashing by Australia was followed by two losses to the Kiwis.
Smith took it hard and retreated to the sanctity of his farmhouse close to Huddersfield to nurse his bruises and reflect upon what had gone wrong.
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At Pride Park.
People who question whether Derby boss Nigel Clough is too mild mannered to manage in the Championship would have done well to watch the man springing in and out of the home dugout at Pride Park on Friday evening.
With the scores locked at 1-1 between the Rams and Coventry, the stress and anxiety was clear to see as Clough bemoaned every decision that went against his team and reacted with fury whenever his players needlessly squandered possession.
It was a Clough I have not seen before. Then again, it has been a difficult few months for the 43-year-old. His team went into Friday's match a perilous 20th in the Championship table on the back of eight defeats in their previous 11 games.
I browsed through a few Derby County message boards this week and sensed that opinion had started to turn against Clough.
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Tucked away inside a large drawer in Iain Hume's bedroom is a selection of the thousands of cards and letters that he was sent last year as he recovered from surgery on a fractured skull.
"They really helped. They made me realise that people actually cared about me as a human being," the Barnsley striker told me.
"It wasn't just someone going down the pub and asking their mates whether they saw television pictures of me getting injured."
There is little doubt that plenty of people did discuss the incident that took place at Oakwell on 8 November last year. Replays of it were shown over and over again on television.
Sheffield United defender Chris Morgan had caught Hume with an elbow as a long ball came over the top. The Tykes striker went down in a heap and was subsequently substituted but was well enough to go home after the match.
The following day, however, Hume says he was talking gibberish. Not that he remembers - the day has been pieced together for him by his wife and father-in-law. He was taken to hospital by his wife and within hours had undergone major emergency surgery. Hume remarked a few weeks afterwards that he could have died and he has an 18-inch scar as a permanent reminder of what happened to him.
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Hello, I'm Paul Fletcher and I mainly write about life in the Football League. I have a great enthusiasm for a whole range of sports and love to spread the word about the great game of rugby league. You can also follow me on 
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