Maybe it was the predictable (albeit worthy) winner. Or maybe it was the inequitable conference system that now sees teams making the playoffs with winning records inferior to those who didn't make it.
Either way it's time for a rethink, if not a complete overhaul as there's an insidious malaise in Super Rugby - a quiet death as evidenced in the appreciably empty seats.
Doom and gloom aside, there's a silver lining.
The flat Super Rugby scenario has underscored how watchable the national provincial competition is; the first few weeks' glimpse of the cleaner domestic competition has been played out in stark contrast to the super comp's boredom.
There's a homegrown charm about these domestic fixtures that render them far more watchable than the frothy franchise footy - less pyrotechnics, more provenance.
What helps is the Magpies' stellar start. Yesterday's close loss with the sun on their backs at McLean Park made it two wins from three.
Too early to tell, but there's some promising green shoots from the black and white hoops.
For one of the (I'm told) youngest teams in the mix, there's an appreciable fire in the belly.
The experienced ilk like Gareth Evans and Ash Dixon pair well with the young chaps, some of whom are just out of high school.
The other allure of the national comp is that it boasts retro daytime games. For those of us of a certain age this is the time of day we once pulled on jerseys - and the time of day we once watched the All Blacks take the field.
But most of all, methinks it's the provincial unions boasting the faces of those representing the same region they've just finished playing local club rugby in - and local schoolboy rugby before that.
That's a native succession plan Super Rugby just can't match.
