That is the heartbreak for Matatū, falling 25-24 against Hurricanes Poua in its Super Rugby Aupiki game Christchurch today.
Matatū had the opportunity to level the game with three minutes to go, when Poua gave away a penalty in front of the posts.
But in a gutsy decision, captain Alana Bremner chose to go for a the corner and Matatū went to work.
It used the width of the park, and its tight forwards to propel it forward, and finally got over the line.
But it was heartbreak when the try was questionably called held up, leaving Matatū to lose by one.
It was a spectacle of the sport from both teams, and a brutal encounter, with strong winds keeping the ball in hand for longer periods.
The home team dominated at set piece, with Black Ferns prop Amy Rule controlling the scrum.
Matatū got on the board first through flanker Kendra Reynolds. She broke away from her team’s maul after spotting a gap off the back of their line out.
Poua’s first real attacking opportunity came in the 26th minute.
Matatū were hot on attack when Carys Dallinger intercepted the ball and took off down the field.
The ball shifted through several hands, with Matatū on the back foot in defence, and was straightened before it was shifted wide for winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga to finish it off.
That appeared to give Poua players some pep in their step and pushed them into the game more.
They began to create more attacking opportunities and put the pressure back on Matatū.
Isabella Waterman slotted a penalty right in front at the 37th minute to give Poua a 8-5 lead.
But not to be left behind, Matatū hit back twice before the break.
The first came from a lovely team try, with flanker Lucy Jenkins, hanging out on the wing, flicking a nice inside ball into Renee Holmes to score.
That was followed by Grace Brooker showing a lovely wee dummy ball to draw a gap in Poua’s defence and go over under the sticks.
It gave the home side a nice 19-8 buffer at the break.
It was a game built on momentum, one team would get on a run but the other was not far behind.
Poua responded well straight after the break, through winger Stephens Daly scoring on debut.
Matatū looked good when it kept the ball in play and had width across the park, but had big lapses in defence to let Poua back into the game.
The visitors’ scored twice through Joanah Ngan-Woo and Daly to take a 25-19 lead.
Matatū came back with Holmes - who had an outstanding game - shimmy down the sidelines to score and trail by one for the rest of the game.
Earlier on, Chiefs Manawa held off a late surge from the Blues to keep its undefeated record in tact, winning 55-33.
It will be a real challenge for Matatū as it heads north to take on the in-form Manawa next week.
