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Mark Brown seemed to have seen a ghost shortly after Canterbury’s latest loss, one that leaves them in a desperate fight for relegation.
The co-coach was standing behind the changing sheds at Christchurch’s Orangetheory Stadium on Friday night, collecting his thoughts following a 23-16 loss to Otago, the Reds and Blacks’ third straight loss.
A few days before, he was talking tough. It was about making the playoffs, anything less would be a failure for the 14-time champions.
However, their first loss to Otago in 15 years has changed its tune, as the Reds and Blacks’ crumbling campaign borders on disaster.
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“That conversation has changed as a result of tonight. This morning we still thought we could win the championship. Right now, we have to look at other things and really play with some desperation to finish the season well, ”Brown said visibly disappointed.
Dead last in the Premier with 19 points, Canterbury is five points behind fourth-ranked Wellington and remains a slim playoff chance with two rounds to play.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Canterbury captain Reed Prinsep, left, and prop Daniel Lienert-Brown pictured during Canterbury’s loss to Otago last Friday.
But they need big wins against reigning champions Tasman (Blenheim) and table leader Auckland (at home), and outside help to break into the top four.
Given the way they are playing, indecisive and with little confidence, that’s a powerful order and Brown knows it.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking, to be honest. We put a lot into this week for obvious reasons and we had a pretty good week, and once again, it hasn’t translated into a performance on the field when it counts, ”he said.
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Canterbury coaches Mark Brown, left, and Reuben Thorne are under pressure as Canterbury tries to avoid relegation.
Once a team that scored easily tries, Canterbury have crossed the chalk only four times in their last three matches.
They lack strength in attack, struggle to get past the lead line and, frankly, seem lost in ideas.
Since the loss of wing Manasa Mataele to a season-ending chest injury following his fourth round win against Wellington, there has been a serious lack of x factor.
Line breaks are rare, and when they have created the strange possibility, they have been a waste, which is highlighted when Ngane Punivai kills a certain try against Otago last week.
“I just think that we are not being clinical enough, and that is in all areas of the game. We got a lineout and toppled him in a crucial part [of the field]. It’s just those crucial moments, ”Brown said.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Otago blocking Josh Dickson scores a lineout on his Canterbury counterpart Luke Romano in Christchurch on Friday night.
When asked if the team was trying too hard and running out of confidence, Brown said the three one-point losses to Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay and Waikato, and his 44-8 blowout to Bay of Plenty, had taken their toll.
“Honestly, it’s a difficult place to be. In a couple of losses, the way we lost at the beginning of the year, it was pretty brutal in one sense, and then last week[BOP}itwasbrutalinanothersense[BOP}fuebrutalenotrosentido[BOP}wasbrutalinanotherway
“It can damage trust and things can spiral. But we have to be better than that and not look for excuses. I think the first person you look at is yourself in the mirror and it starts from there. “
Despite being on track to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2003, Brown has faith that the team he trains with Reuben Thorne can avoid slipping into the championship section for the first time since the competition split into two sections in 2011. .
“I am very confident because now it is a different conversation. Despair becomes the driving force. Anyone who takes to the field next week will be playing desperate.
