The Highlanders mounted a second-half comeback but were edged 32-25 by the Blues in a Super Rugby Pacific match at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday.
Look away now if you are squeamish. It was the Highlanders’ fifth consecutive loss and the franchise has a firm toehold on the bottom rung of the competition standings
There is no way to cushion that hard truth. And to make matters worse the next assignment is against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday night.
But there are signs which suggest the Highlanders are starting to play more the way you might expect.
They scored three tries in the second half and had another denied by the TMO.
In the final moments the Highlanders were battering away at the line, but produced a critical fumble and the game slipped away.
Coach Tony Brown was annoyed by the result but also heartened by the performance, particularly in the second half.
"I think we found a little bit of our mojo there that we’ve been lacking.
"The boys were excited and physical and wanted the ball in their hands.
"We created some good opportunities there. It was a pleasing effort but not what we need at this stage of the comp," he said.
"I can’t fault the effort, the desire or heart of my team. Everyone is putting in so much effort in.
"It is just heartbreaking notgetting the results that weneed.
"The fitness and the condition of our players is where we need it. They are putting all that out on the field," he said.
"For me it’s just those little things that win games. It is being able to exit really well, it is being able to execute when you’ve got opportunities to score and it’s being able make key one-on-one tackles when they need to be made. That is the difference at the moment."
The Highlanders got through the match without any further injuries and should get a trio of key players back.
Fullback Connor Garden-Bachop, loose forward Marino Mikaele-Tu’u and prop Ethan de Groot were ruled out of selection while they battled with Covid-19, but all three are expected to be available on Friday.
"We’ll see how they recover over the weekend and how they front up at the start of the week," Brown said.
The Blues were not as lucky. They lost All Black first five Beauden Barrett early in the second half after he suffered a head knock.
Blues coach Leon MacDonald said he had a "big fat lip and a bleeding nose and hopefully it is nothing too much more than that".
While the result was not great for the Highlanders, the game was a welcome financial boost for the franchise.
Restrictions on numbers for outdoor gatherings were lifted last week which meant the Highlanders-Blues game was played in front of crowd of7563.
That would have provided a valuable cash-injection for the Highlanders who are facing a loss of up to $2million this season.
In the other matches on Saturday, the Brumbies edged the Force 39-38 in Perth to remain at the top of the table, the Crusaders beat the Chiefs 34-19 in Hamilton, and the Reds beat the Waratahs 32-20 in Brisbane.
On Friday, the Rebels beat Fijian Drua 42-27 and Moana Pasifika stunned the Hurricanes 24-19 in a golden point victory in Auckland.
