Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu of the Hurricanes. Photo / Getty Images
The Hurricanes deserve every ounce of the praise that has been heaped upon them this season. This is a team that looks energised, enterprising, enthusiastic and eager to take the game's most enigmatic franchise to the finals and beyond.
They are 8-1 heading into the final two months of the competition. They have a one-point lead and a game in hand over the Chiefs, and boast seven- and eight-point leads over the Brumbies and Stormers respectively. If ever there was a season for optimism in the capital, this is it.
The Hurricanes don't so much play rugby as reimagine it. They pickpocket defences, pepper the backfield with audacious kicks, arrive as unannounced as in-laws at the breakdown, where they are even less welcome, and trust their instincts on attack. Kicking the ball to the Hurricanes' back three is the rugby equivalent of self-harm.
That's all well and good, but the last seven rounds are not so much a stretch for the Hurricanes as they are an ordeal - six games against conference opponents, four against the Crusaders and the Chiefs. You would be getting some tasty odds on the Canes clean-sweeping those perennial contenders.
The Hurricanes have proved their worth over the first 11 rounds of the competition, but now they have to prove their depth. And this is the real test for Chris Boyd's boys because at least six of his key players are owed a day in lieu.
Last weekend, Highlanders fans, who had buried their heads in the sand whenever the taboo topic of a rest for the two Smiths and Fekitoa had been raised, were aggrieved when the inevitable star stand-down came. Without those three, the Highlanders struggled for composure, especially in a first half that saw them driven back over their line three times. In fairness, what Aaron Smith, Ben Smith or Malakai Fekitoa could have done to stop the Brumbies exceptional lineout drive is debatable, though it reminds me of a story about the American sports writer Jim Murray.
Murray, who was a massive Ben Hogan fan, was watching Arnold Palmer trying to figure out how to get himself out of an impossible position in the rough. Seeing Murray standing in the gallery, Palmer sarcastically said to him, "Well, what would your friend Hogan do if he was in this position?" Murray, who was always ready with a quip, shot back, "Hogan wouldn't be in this position."
Maybe if the Highlanders had played their titanic trio, they wouldn't have found themselves stuck in Canberra with the gear lever in reverse for 40 minutes. But rather than use the example to illustrate the importance to the team of the Highlanders' three All Blacks, maybe we should consider it a salutary lesson in the importance of squad depth.
The final seven weeks are going to be a test of what the Hurricanes have built over the previous three seasons, and what they have brought in to bolster the ranks this year. Ray Lee-Lo will need to cover Ma'a Nonu or Conrad Smith, or both, at some stage over the next two months. Chris Smylie will need to fill the ever-expanding shoes of TJ Perenara. Ben Franks will need to be put on a protein drip, while Beauden Barrett and Cory Jane will each spend at least another weekend watching from the stands. Even the Bus will be forced to make a stop.
The good news? So far the cover has stood up to the test.
Teams require their stars to win championships. But the other hallmark of a champion side is having a squad full of blokes who want to emulate those stars when they are given their chance. If the Hurricanes squad can continue to cover their big name players as they push for the playoffs, then that will be their most praiseworthy deed of all.