After just two weeks of competition, the trans-Tasman Super Rugby competition has the wobbles.
After 10 games, without a win for the Australian sides, there's been big scorelines but waning interest.
Former Waratah turned Blues assistant coach Dan Halangahu said one issue the winless Aussies have is a lack of resources.
“They've certainly got some quality players but it's the depth that's one issue, one difference,” he said.
It’s not just on the field though.
“The Melbourne Rebels have two assistance coaches running their whole crew - we have five coaches working their butts off!”
The numbers aren’t great elsewhere either.
Crowd numbers during the first two weeks have hardly been booming and TV ratings given to 1 NEWS reveal a significant drop.
An average of 300,000 viewers, aged five plus who weren’t streaming games on their TVs or other devices, tuned in for the Super Rugby Aotearoa final a few weeks ago, but by last weekend’s second round of trans-Tasman action, that figure had nearly halved.
Despite those numbers, New Zealand sides say playing the Aussies is a must.
"It poses a different challenge," Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu said.
"I suppose for the All Blacks as well, you can't just keep playing New Zealand teams week in and week out or you'd end up breaking everyone by the second round.
"It's different for coaches and us playing the game and it freshens us up.”
And in case fans think players are on a lighter load, Tuipulotu had a simple response to keep things in perspective.
"It's still physical ... you still finish with a sore body at the end of the game."
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