In fact, near the end of the game, it was emphatically slammed shut in their face.
It may be a bit like saying the sky is blue, or night follows day, but to beat the Crusaders, chances simply must be taken.
So when Tony Brown missed four penalty goals in the first half on Saturday night at Carisbrook, and the Highlanders then started dropping the ball at crucial times, there was only going to be one result.
Stand-in skipper Jimmy Cowan admitted the side had talked about not making mistakes but actions spoke louder than words on Saturday night.
"There were lots of things that looked wrong. We were just not accurate enough. We did not execute our game plan," Cowan said.
"One thing we talked about during the week is to not cough up the ball and we did that too often and they counter-attacked. In the second half they started to link passes and put phases together and when they do that they're dangerous.
"We just did not take our chances in the first half, and then in that last part of the second half we got tired."
He refused to use the long trip back from South Africa as an excuse, saying the team had time to recover.
The Crusaders finished much the stronger, scoring four tries in a 15-minute block in the second half, though the Highlanders had the last say, with Adam Thomson scoring on the 80th minute.
Centre Kendrick Lynn, who had the tough task of marking Robbie Fruean and Sonny Bill Williams, said the side just could not get any continuity.
"We dropped the ball or just turned it over at the breakdown. That was the key to our game and we did not get much flow-on," Lynn said.
"It was an awesome crowd, a real great turnout, but we just could not put it on for them."
"But we know that it was just a bit of a blow-out and we know we can do better. We've just got to be a bit more accurate. We're a better team than that."
The Highlanders hung in there in the first half, despite Brown missing his shots at goal, and the Crusaders looking dangerous at times.
But when No 8 Kieran Read ran into a gap just after halftime and cantered 40m to score, the writing was on the wall.
Israel Dagg helped himself to a double on his old stomping ground, although there was a blatant knock-on in the lead up to his second try.
Williams set up a couple of the tries with nice inside balls, while Fruean gave his best impression of a runaway express.
The Highlanders lacked the ability to create any phases and turned over the ball too often, while the backs were guilty of running across field.
Thomson tried hard for the home side while Shaun Treeby showed some nice touches at second five-eighth and fullback Ben Smith put in another good effort.
The scores:
• Crusaders 44
Israel Dagg 2, Robbie Fruean, Kieran Read, Kahn Fotuali'i, Wyatt Crockett tries; Dan Carter 2 pen, 3 con, Mathew Berquist con
• Highlanders 13
Adam Thomson try; Tony Brown 2 pen, Robbie Robinson con
• Halftime: Crusaders 13-6
• Crowd: 20,700.
