sys(@svn_co, $SVN_URL, $SVN_WC);
                chdir $SVN_WC or croak $!;
                $last_commit = git_commit($base, @parents);
-               unless (-f "$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/master") {
-                       sys(qw(git-update-ref refs/heads/master),$last_commit);
-               }
                assert_svn_wc_clean($base->{revision}, $last_commit);
        } else {
                chdir $SVN_WC or croak $!;
                $last_commit = git_commit($log_msg, $last_commit, @parents);
        }
        assert_svn_wc_clean($last_rev, $last_commit);
+       unless (-e "$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/master") {
+               sys(qw(git-update-ref refs/heads/master),$last_commit);
+       }
        return pop @$svn_log;
 }