Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd knows his side must use the June test window to find a way to halt their Super Rugby slide.
Just a week ago, the Wellington-based outfit were playing for the top of the table, with just one loss to their name this season.
Now, they find themselves in relative freefall, with consecutive local-derby defeats to the Crusaders and Highlanders against their record.
Even before that, a flattering 38-34 home win over the Reds was an early sign that the 2016 Super Rugby champions weren't quite on their game.
That much is now obvious.
The Hurricanes have now fallen five competition points off the league-leading Crusaders and while they are still well in the playoff picture, they're no longer the form horses that previous results suggested.
"They're devastated," confirmed Boyd, after Friday night's 30-14 capitulation in Dunedin. "We've had three pretty patch performances and we know it's not good enough.
"We know we have to regroup and regroup quickly to get on with it."
The Hurricanes were well in the contest, approaching halftime with a 7-3 lead, but momentum swung on an incident a couple of minutes before the break, when centre Jordie Barrett appeared to recover a loose ball and scramble 30 metres for a try.
The play was reviewed and ruled out, after Highlanders flanker Liam Squire was sin-binned for a high tackle, but Hurricanes wing Julian Savea was penalised for retaliation, nullifying any advantage play.
"It was a reckless shot to the head and it's probably fair," reflected Boyd of Squire's yellow card.
"There was sort of retaliation, which we couldn't see or find, and I don't think they could either. If that try had been allowed, maybe it could have been a different story, who knows."
While Squire was off the field, his team capped a crazy four minutes of extra time with Tevita Li's try to lead 8-7 at the break.
The southerners were the next to score after the restart, when Ben Smith slipped the defensive line to gift Aaron Smith a try and while the Hurricanes edged ahead with a converted try a few minutes later, they had already conceded control of the struggle.
Boyd has been a vocal critic of recent All Blacks camps taking players out of their Super Rugby environments over recent weeks, but would not be drawn into blaming them for the Hurricanes' struggles.
"It's no excuse," he said. "We knew they were coming.
"We had one day to prepare with everybody, it clearly hasn't helped, but everybody knew what it was.
"If you look what's coming after the bye, it's all local derbies, so there's still plenty of footy to play."
One particular area exposed by the Highlanders was the lineout, where their rivals disrupted possession by vigorously contesting the throw-in.
"I don't think it's been a singular thing," said Boyd. "We had a lineout today that didn't function particularly well, but another day, it might have been something else.
"We just need to get more accurate and more clinical with what we're doing."
For Highlanders assistant coach Mark Hammett - who had the reins as head coach Aaron Mauger mourned his deceased mother - the win was a much-needed boost, after their blip against the Waratahs two weeks.
That 41-12 defeat broke the two-year, 39-game winning streak by New Zealand franchises over Australian Super Rugby rivals.
"We were disappointed that we dropped that 'Tahs game," said Hammett. "That made this game extra critical.
"You're always planning to win every game, but you know that home derbies can go either way - that's how they are."
Both teams enjoy a few weeks' relative respite, before resuming their Super Rugby schedules on June 30. Highlanders travel to Suva to face the Chiefs, while the Hurricanes take on the Brumbies in Canberra.
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