New Zealand Rugby's strategic goal of two gold medals at this Olympics has come up well short, and the defeat by the men's team to Fiji in their quarter-final this morning will inevitably lead to change.
As far as the men's team is concerned, the organisation appeared unwilling to commit all its resources to winning gold. It was always going to be a juggling act given the All Blacks' importance to the game here, but loose forward Ardie Savea was allowed to leave the squad and concentrate on 15s - making his debut for the All Blacks soon after- and New Zealand Rugby, despite being his employers, admitted they were powerless to act.
It's unlikely that Savea, in stunning form for the All Blacks in June and the Hurricanes during their charge to the title, would have made much difference, but it was another indication of muddled thinking by the organisation in the lead-up to the Games which was replicated on the field by the men's team.
Credit must be given to the way the Australian women recovered from their 5-0 deficit to beat New Zealand 24-17 in their final, the Kiwis at least having the consolation of taking home a silver medal, but the men's team, under coach Sir Gordon Tietjens, were well off their game at this tournament, beating only Kenya and losing to Japan, Great Britain and Fiji.
Their 12-7 loss at the Deodoro Stadium this morning was not without its controversies, and unfortunately that has been a recurring theme at Rio. South African referee Rasta Rasivhenge awarded only one penalty to New Zealand, while consistently finding fault with Tietjens' men at the breakdown, and sinbinning Rieko Ioane for a tip-tackle. Meanwhile, Sam Dickson took a Fijian shoulder to a jaw in a potentially dangerous high tackle, and the transgressor was merely penalised.