The Highlanders may be broken, beaten and buried at the bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific table but their talisman is telling fans there remains hope in his final season with the club.
All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith and the Highlanders are preparing for their first non-Kiwi opponent this season – the Western Force – this weekend having played the Blues, Crusaders and Chiefs so far.
The tough start to the season has left the Highlanders with some less than flattering numbers; a competition-low 42 point for, a brutal 140 points against and zero competition points.
“We're under no illusion,” Smith said.
“We're bottom of the table and it's a place we don't want to be but that's our current reality, that's the situation we're in.”
While the opposition has been tough, attack coach Richard Whiffen said their biggest issue has been themselves.
“It looks tough with a lot of the scorelines but there's opportunities that we are just not executing or finding,” he said.
Their latest loss, a 28-7 defeat to the Chiefs, was Smith’s return to the side in what is his final season in the deep south leaving New Zealand shores after this year's Rugby World Cup.
The scoreline was one way of seeing the match didn’t go to plan but their backline was another with Smith forced to spend time at first-five late in the match.
“Playing at 10 was interesting,” Smith said.
“I knew I was feeling a bit tired in the 70th minute thinking, ‘bring [reserve halfback Kemara Hauiti-Parapara] on, I'm ready to come off now and then I saw [Mitch Hunt] and the poor guy do his shoulder, I saw what was going to happen.”
It's not looking pretty for the southerners with Hunt’s scare potentially adding to a long injury list that already had nine names on it prior to the Chiefs match.
Whiffen said the club is hopeful Hunt will be fine for this Sunday in Invercargill though.
“We expect him to be good for the weekend,” he said.
“There’ll be guys who don't make it from the Chiefs game into the weekend but we have to wait midweek until we start nailing down what those pictures look like.”
Smith added those who are kitting up aren’t making excuses.
“A lot of our talk has been what we can control as a team – how we respect the ball, how we work off the ball.
“We're all hurting but we need to turn that hurt into energy and focusing on nailing our roles.”
Smith has been through the very highs and lows with the Highlanders but this is a year like no other - a final swansong from his beloved club before heading to Japan at the end of this year.
"Everything feels like it's the first time because it's the last time," he said.
"I got a bit emotional looking at the jersey on Friday night because you never know, nothing is guaranteed.
"Everything will feel sad but special this year."
Smith was quick to add that he's not necessarily saying goodbye to his Highlanders whānau forever.
"It’s see you soon, it’s not goodbye."
As well as turning the Highlanders' season around, Smith has a World Cup looming where questions continue to swirl around who will be All Blacks coach Ian Foster's replacement.
The All Blacks halfback was asked what former Highlanders coaches Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown would bring to the All Blacks, should they be appointed.
"They’d just bring the same they do to every team they are with.
"They are very innovative around how they look at the game. Jamie’s very tough getting his forwards to a place, and sets up an environment for that, and Browny is obviously famous for his innovation on attack.
"Jamie’s a very strong leader, and Browny’s very innovative, and they have high expectations of the teams they put together."
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