Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd has slammed his team's Super Rugby loss to the Brumbies.
The early frontrunners for the title have lost three games in a row in a concerning form slump just two games away from the finals.
The Brumbies' Super Rugby finals hopes remain alive after an upset 24-12 victory over the Hurricanes - their first win against a New Zealand team since 2016.
They still need to win their last two matches and rely on other results to avoid missing the post-season for the first time in six years, but their triumph over the second-placed Wellington side on Saturday night gives them hope.
Boyd called the second half failure in Canberra, where they failed to register a point, as among the worst 40 minutes since his coaching tenure began in 2015.
But he did note the Brumbies were out to keep their season alive, with a loss meaning the ACT team would be out of finals contention.
"That's probably the worst 40 minutes of football we've played in four years really," Boyd said.
"I think at the end of the day, one team was desperate to stay alive and we've already qualified for the playoffs, it's just where we're going to play and who against.
"That doesn't excuse that performance but one team had more to play for than the other."
In better news for the Hurricanes, they could get three of the four star players who missed the game back for their home clash with the Blues next Saturday.
Boyd said he expected captain Brad Shields and All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Vaea Fifita back for the Kiwi derby.
The clear highlight against the Brumbies for the Hurricanes was captain TJ Perenara scoring a freak try by diving to intercept a Joe Powell pass in the corner.