Gulp! I think the ?Canes can win!

What a load of codswallop!
All the talk about the Hurricanes having no chance of beating the Crusaders in their Super 12 rugby semi-final match at Jade Stadium (or Lancaster Park to those of more vintage years)) this coming weekend is just that.
Sure, the Crusaders gave them a good old-fashioned beating on Friday night but what did it mean in the whole scheme of things.
Basically nothing.
With both teams already guaranteed semi-final spots the result mattered little and if anyone but Paul Honiss had been referee we would probably have seen a match in which play ranged up and down the whole paddock for the full 80 minutes
The whistle-happy Honiss, of course, was never going to allow that to happen.
Pedantic is a word which could have been invented especially for him.
Sure he probably knows the rules backwards but the top referees, such as our own Bob Francis, will conveniently overlook the trivial offences to ensure that the flow of play is not continually disrupted.
It's all about having a "feel" for the game, isn't it, and in that respect Mr Honiss is too often found wanting for my liking.
And it's high time whoever is responsible for Super 12 refereeing appointments these days sees it that way as well.
But enough of the referee, what about the Hurricanes. How can they possibly reverse last Friday's result.
Well, having experienced campaigners like Tana Umaga, Jerry Collins and Andrew Hore back in action has to be a help, doesn't it.?
They are, in many ways, the guts of this Hurricanes unit in that all three are generally at their best when the going is at its toughest.
For sheer physicality they don't come any better than this trio.
Not only that Just having them on the paddock is an inspiration to their team-mates. A case of "we'll lead and you follow" I suppose you could say.
It will be vital though that the Hurricanes get their tactics right. Any attempt to batter the Crusaders into submission up front won't work but then neither will throwing the ball about willy-nilly in the backs and expecting the Nonu's of the world to cut loose on a regular basis.
Traditionally when it comes to finals time the Crusaders go back to basics They focus on keeping mistakes to an absolute minimum and pouncing whenever their opposition falls foul of error.
To me the Hurricanes need to take a leaf our of their book.They have to forget the flashy stuff and rely on good old-fashioned hard graft to produce the right result.They have to have a mind-set which says that winning by one point is just as satisfying as winning by 30.
As a true-blue Mainlander I make no bones about the fact that I personally will be in the corner of the Crusaders.
But much as I hate to admit it this is a game the Hurricanes CAN win.
Scary but true.