Hurricanes let themselves down with inept wet-weather effort in Christchurch
Long faces were the order of the day following the Hurricanes' loss to the Crusaders.
ANALYSIS: Let's get straight to it - for blokes regularly hailed as among the finest rugby players in the world, a few Hurricanes let themselves down on Friday.
It's not that they lost 24-13 to the Crusaders, but the way they lost. Limply and without thought.
You'd have thought they were schoolboy team on their first trip away, given how confused the Hurricanes appeared by the Christchurch weather and the Crusaders' tactics.
Referee Angus Gardner didn't help on Friday.
You won't win every week, but this was a defeat that reinforced everyone's suspicions and prejudices about the Hurricanes and their ability - or otherwise - to win ugly or when it matters.
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Some poor refereeing from Angus Gardner didn't help. Crusaders were allowed to gather dropped balls from offside positions, without being penalised, while there was a clear knock-on in the lead-up to Mike Alaalatoa's second-half try.
The Crusaders were clear winners of the physical battle, along with the match, against the Hurricanes.
But for every one of those instances of bad luck there was a pushed pass, a needless late hit, a nothing kick or an inaccurate lineout. You could go on.
None of us are professional rugby players or coaches. But we all knew the Crusaders were going to kick long, pin the Hurricanes into AMI Stadium's corners and prey on mistakes through set-piece and defensive pressure.
All of us except the Hurricanes, apparently.
"We played too much football again in difficult conditions, gave away too many penalties, didn't have enough territory," Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said.
It was reminiscent of defeats such as the 26-18 one to the Chiefs in Hamilton last year, or the subsequent 20-12 loss in Christchurch to the Crusaders. Both were nights when the same laments were made about the same sorts of errors.
Surely there are smart enough people within the Hurricanes organisation to realise that playing a bit of territory and being direct and looking after the football might've been advantageous on Friday?
"Yeah, probably. And we did at times and then we'd make a mistake and they'd come back into it," said Boyd.
Adding "on the night we got it wrong and it was a performance that we're not particularly proud of."
Again, though, how is it that such elite, seasoned players can get it this wrong? And not for the first time, in similar situations.
Can momentum or tactics not be changed, once they're established?
"No, no, no. I think we did change. But we'd change it and something would happen to undo the opportunity we had to go through with that," Boyd said.
"If we'd held onto the ball for longer periods of time and mounted pressure and got some territory because, particularly when the weather's difficult, that combination of the ball in the right place is the critical thing. So we didn't have the territory and possession at the same time; you can have all the possession in the world, but if it's at the wrong end of the field it makes it bloody difficult."
It now leaves the Hurricanes battling to overhaul the Crusaders for the New Zealand conference title, which would ensure a simpler playoff run. Boyd still believes they can do it, but they now need the odd result to fall their way.
They have four games left, starting with the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday, then the Brumbies (away), Blues at home at Chiefs (away) after the June break.
There's an outside chance lock Vaea Fifita could be back for Friday, otherwise Boyd has the same squad to pick from.
- Stuff
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