The eyes told the story at Cooks Gardens on Saturday.
It was there in coach Karl Hoskin's as he searched for the words, and captain Peter Rowe's as he looked for positives, and most importantly in the Wanganui supporters as they walked to the gates having witnessed King Country end a winning streak at home going back to 2007.
The autopsy of the 17-16 upset loss in the Pink Batts Heartland Championship opener will be Steelform Wanganui tried things that didn't work or could never work without the proper platform, while King Country didn't do much but when they did they made it count.
Namely, this involved charging through the mile-wide gaps left beside the ruck to set up all three of their tries to first-five Whakataki Cunningham, lock Anthony Wise in a great solo effort, and winger Dean Church for the second-half match winner.
In return, Wanganui offered a well-beaten scrum, leaving new halfback Lindsay Horrocks under pressure, lineout throws Nick Cranston struggled to secure, long cut out passes from first-five Tom Wells which no-one was positioned to claim, and persistence with blindside runs which were easily snuffed out.
While Wells gave a middling first-up performance wearing the No10, he still went 4 from 6 with his goal kicking and replacing him with 20 minutes to go and a 16-12 lead backfired horribly.
Immediately Church would finish off a surging burst from captain Brian Mansfield to put King Country back in front, and then Wanganui would have to turn down going for goal on three penalties within Wells' range but no one else's.
The visitors spent the last five minutes staying in the ruck to claim a famous win.
For Rowe, what hurt more than his team not climbing out of second gear was that they were "out-passioned".
"[King Country] brought a bit more hunger, more desire.
"A lot of it is attitude, that shift in attitude changes all of it."
While the questions could now be asked about current selections, the Wanganui captain said the men on-deck can fix these problems.
"I totally believe still in these fellas.
"By no means is it time to hit the panic button, but I think as players we have to look at ourselves."
Hoskin promised the same tomorrow night's training run can be expected to be quite the tough session.
"We can do better than this and we will do better than this."
That must start up front as former Manawatu NPC hooker Karl Parker and replacement Roman Tutauha's throws did not reach Cranston's hands cleanly enough for Wanganui to prosper, while fellow lock Sam Madams did not stand out.
Veteran prop Shaun McDonough was pressured remorselessly by his 135kg opposite Ted Tauroa, although forwards coach Darrell Hoskin was not happy referee Akihisa Aso did nothing to prevent Tauroa getting into McDonough and twisting the scrum.
"With the new laws around the put-in, the refs aren't looking at that any more. He's going to be able to do it."
Wanganui were shocked after six minutes when King Country halfback Zayn Tipping, who had a fine match, just zipped straight through a glaring gap from a 5m scrum and dashed straight to the tryline.
Fullback Ace Malo ran him down but first-five Cunningham was there to dive over.
While defending resolutely, King Country ran up a high penalty count, with Wells adding two goals into the breeze to close the gap to one point by halftime.
He landed his third following the break after Wanganui showed better control working one-pass off the ruck as King Country second-five Steven Ketu was binned following repeated team warnings.
But as injured Wanganui No8 Jason Hughes limped behind play, Wise shot straight through the gap and saw off Malo to score in the corner.
A surging run by Rowe finally brought Wanganui into close range for second-five Pehira Huwyler to palm off a tackle and crash over beside the posts.
Wells converted but then missed another relatively straightforward penalty attempt which proved costly.
Areta Lama replaced him, but only moments later Mansfield was through the hole and two passes later Church crashed over.
The home side managed to work back into King Country's half but dropped ball and lost lineouts cost them chances with long-range kicking no longer an option.
Galvanised, King Country worked the ball out of their danger zone and kept it there as the clock ran down.
SsangYong King Country 17 (Whakataki Cunningham, Dean Church, Anthony Wise tries, James Hemara con) bt Steelform Wanganui 16 (Pehira Huwyler try, Tom Wells 3 pen, con). HT: 7-6.