The Kiwi Ferns' World Cup campaign has ended in disappointment, thrashed 54-4 by Australia at Old Trafford.
New Zealand hardly fired a shot, as coach Ricky Henry concedes it was their worst game of the tournament.
It's the kind of pain only losing a Grand Final can bring - and the Kiwi Ferns felt every raw bit of it.
"It's really tough," said halfback Raecene McGregor. "To go through that campaign as well as we did and to give that performance, it's heartbreaking.
"It doesn't show what we've done this week. It hurts."
The abundance of hope they carried into the game quickly evaporated, as Australia started with ferocious intent.
From there it was one-way traffic, 10 tries to one in the end. Henry concedes they saved their worst for last.
"We tried to give ourselves a chance and probably played our worst game out there today, instead of our best," he said.
Unable to gain any momentum, at times, the Kiwi Ferns were their own worst enemies and faltered, while Australia only grew.
A day that started with such optimism ended in heartbreak.
"Just getting out of our own half, we made it really hard for ourselves," added McGregor.
"We weren't pushing up off our line, the supports weren't there. I just don't know what to say."
The win was as dominant a performance as Australia could have asked for. They were ruthless on defence and clinical in attack, nullifying the Kiwi Ferns' strengths from start to finish.
"They just didn't take their foot off the pedal," said second-rower Georgia Hale.
"I think they just kept going, played up-tempo and caught us backpedalling too many times."
Despite the defeat, pride remains in what the side has achieved.
"It's been a great campaign," said captain Krystal Rota. "We've had a lot of small wins and although we didn't win the World Cup, I'm still proud of the girls."
But the Kiwi Ferns will know they had so much more to give.
