Defoe stole the headlines as England's European Championship qualifying campaign got off to the perfect start with a 4-0 win over Bulgaria at Wembley.
But the match also witnessed Rooney's rebirth as a force on the international stage, the Manchester United star eventually shaking off the cobwebs to have a hand in all four of England's goals.
Rooney was particularly generous in playing in Defoe for England's third and fourth goals, something which did not go unacknowledged by the Tottenham striker.
"It's always nice when you play with a partner and they want you to score the third goal," Defoe said.
"When I was on the second, he said to me, 'Keep going and you'll get the hat-trick'.
"When I did, he was the first one to come over."
He added of his treble: "It's great - what a feeling.
"It's a fantastic feeling, to score for your country, to score a hat-trick and to win the game."
Despite starting together plenty of times in the past, Defoe and Rooney have never before hit it off in such spectacular fashion.
Acknowledging this, Defoe said: "I've always said sometimes it takes time to get things working.