...Tim Bateman's 15-word tweet said everything about where the Hurricanes are at as they eye a showdown with the Bulls in Napier on Saturday.
For all the talk about returning loose forwards, keeping feet grounded, and negating the Bulls vaunted lineout drive, the key to the Hurricanes maintaining momentum this week could be the fitness of their second five-eighth.
Bateman's shoulder injury would cut short his Super Rugby comeback after just one match.
"Ultrasound and X-ray have cleared my shoulder now just gotta tick off the MRI (hashtag) fingerscrossed"
The Hurricanes coaches will share those sentiments considering Bateman's influence on the side during their 29-26 win over the Crusaders in Christchurch.
His reasoned voice outside young halves Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara allows his outsides to focus more on their core role of finding holes in the defence.
It was a decisive factor against the Crusaders where wings Alapati Leiua and Julian Savea cut loose.
If Bateman's MRI rules him out, Leiua may well be tossed the No 12 jersey. That's hardly a disaster, but after finally hitting some form the Hurricanes need minimum disruption as they try to build momentum.
Though there will be temptation to bring fit-again No 8 Victor Vito and blindside Brad Shields into the fold against the Bulls, the well-functioning loose forward mix and the looming bye round means change is likely to be kept to a minimum.
Vito's experience at the back of the scrum and in the lineout would be useful against a Bulls side that again perfected the lineout drive during their 34-all draw with the Chiefs.
Twice the Bulls forwards managed to form a perfect line of eight with the ball safely tucked under flanker Deon Stegmann's arm at the back.
It resulted in a try and a penalty Tim Bateman' try and Hurricanes lock James Broadhurst said it was becoming a weekly occurrence.
"I had a quick look at their game on the weekend and it's no secret what they bring. We'll have to be pretty sharp with our lineout defence and our counter drive," he said.
The Hurricanes struggled to cope with the Bulls tactics last season when they were thumped 48-18 in Pretoria, but Broadhurst said the pack would approach the match with confidence after matching the Crusaders at the breakdown and set piece.
"Our lineouts were both 11 from 14 so to be up there with them as one of the better lineouts in the competition is pretty satisfying ... competing in the air is one way of stopping it [the maul], so I think we'll have to be really on to it with that."
Though the Hurricanes had come out firing against the Crusaders, halfback TJ Perenara denied it was a response to the criticism the team had been copping.
"It's massive for the boys. We were under a lot of pressure going into that week, but the way we prepared was as normal," he said. "We didn't try to do anything outrageous or try to change the world at all."
On a personal note though, he admitted he had lifted his own game in response to being dropped for Chris Smylie two weeks ago.
"It's never nice being dropped but it is part of the game and when you aren't performing at the level you should be we are a team where we have people who can fill your spot straight away. "Smylie came in and played very well that game and it just shows it doesn't matter how you played in the past. If you aren't performing week to week someone else can come in and take your spot."
Perenara hadn't felt he'd been playing poorly through the opening four weeks, but said his demotion had been a wake-up call.
"I thought I was passing and kicking OK, which is not good enough in this team. OK isn't good enough. We need excellence if we want to be a Super Rugby championship winning team. Driving excellence is something that's come from being dropped."
Smylie, who has been out with a calf injury since the Cheetahs match, is close to a return.
