If the Hurricanes weren't panicking after losing their opening two games of the Super Rugby season they might need to change that approach after dropping their third.
The Hurricanes were listless in Wellington tonight as they were tipped over 29-21 by the Brumbies at Westpac Stadium in their first home outing of the season.
There's no shame in dropping your first two games to start the campaign when you're playing quality South Africa sides like the Sharks and Stormers but the Hurricanes needed to follow it up with a solid performance this week.
They didn't come close.
This season, Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett has stressed the importance of defence to his side and with that in mind he would have been devastated to watch how easily the Brumbies scored their first try.
Straight from the back of an attacking scrum, fullback Jesse Mogg received a pass and breezed through a gap between TJ Perenara and Conrad Smith without having a finger laid on him only a few minutes before halftime.
Mogg's five-pointer put life in to the Brumbies, who were trailing 13-3 at that point after Hurricanes halfback TJ Perenara got the first try of the game in the 33rd minute to add to a couple of earlier penalties from Beauden Barrett.
Last week it was the Hurricanes who produced a notable burst before the split but tonight they conceded one as Brumbies wing Robbie Coleman then crossed only a minute before the break.
Brumbies halfback Nic White missed the conversion attempt but the visitors still took an unlikely 15-13 lead to the sheds as the pitiful Wellington crowd of 8096 was left to wonder what happened.
The Brumbies didn't waste much time adding to their advantage after the break as giant centre Tevita Kuridrani danced through a gap to score as Stephen Larkham's side eased out to a 22-13 lead.
Hammett then decided to use his bench as he inserted a collection of new forwards in to the game, including the electric Ardie Savea.
The 20-year-old has been the subject of much discussion during the past couple of weeks as he has been limited to a reserve role, while he wasn't even included in the match-day 23 for the season-opening 27-9 loss to the Sharks in Durban.
Considering Savea's status as an apprentice All Black and an ITM Cup standout last year, his lack of game-time has been curious but Hammett clearly wants to manage the youngster's development.
A lack of execution and basic errors have plagued the Hurricanes during the first few weeks of the competition and their tardiness was again to the fore this evening.
Their attack lacked any flow as they failed to string enough phases together and while the Brumbies have a smattering of Wallabies in their ranks, they're hardly the benchmark in Super Rugby.
The Hurricanes were starved of the ball during the second spell, which made their quest for a comeback even tougher as their errors compounded as the game wore on.
Playing catch-up rugby is never easy and doing it with a lack of direction is even tougher.
The Hurricanes seemed to go sideways all night while their option-taking on attack was questionable and when Lachlan McCaffrey scored with only eight minutes left, off yet another Hurricanes turnover, the argument was settled.
Brumbies 29 (Jesse Mogg, Robbie Coleman, Tevita Kuridrani, Lachlan McCaffrey tries, Nic White pen, 3 con) Hurricanes 21 (TJ Perenara, Blade Thomson tries; Beauden Barrett 3 pen con) Halftime: 15-13
- by Daniel Richardson of APNZ
