Are the 2014 #Hurricanes Beyond Hope Already?

We're only 7 days into March but it's safe to say that the Hurricanes are going to struggle to shake off their also-ran tag.

Yes they always knew that their start to the season was going to be tough with 2 games in South Africa against the Sharks and Stormers in Durban and Cape Town respectively - probably as tough a tour you're going to get in the Republic - and then come back to Wellington on Friday night to play last year's finalists, the Brumbies.

Still, you can't really say that the Hurricanes deserved to win any of those games - even if they were quite unlucky against the attack-shy Stormers by conceding that late try through a rolling maul. The Sharks and Brumbies definitely deserved to win their games against the Hurricanes.

The questions keep being asked of 4th year coach, Mark Hammett who must be under pressure to deliver and keep the likes of young All Blacks stars, Beauden Barrett and Julian Savea, etc. from the apparently more ambitious NZ franchises, i.e. the Chiefs and Blues.

Hammett was brought in to instill a Crusaders like culture in Wellington and while the Hurricanes often started the season well, they have flattered to deceive and end up finishing well off the playoff spots.

Yes, it is a tough competition and only 6 teams can make the playoffs but given the talent and expectations at the Hurricanes, it seems like right now, the Hurricanes just lack the ambition or the ability to take that final step and become a real contender. Indeed, it seems like the Hurricanes have taken a backward step since the heady days under coach Colin Cooper, when they were regular playoff contenders - making that Final in Christchurch in 2006 shrouded in the clouds.

The Hurricanes right now seem to be a side lacking inspiration - and that means they're lacking confidence. They just don't seem to be challenged right now and that surely will not be helpful in getting the crowd numbers back to the Cake Tin - these have clearly been in decline over the last couple of years, as more and more Wellingtonians seem less interested in their sport, and more interested in their art and lattes on Cuba Street on a Friday or Saturday night.

Is it time to end the Mark Hammett experiment and bring in a coach of more experience and greater calibre? Is it time for the Hurricanes management - now bereft of their partnership with the wealthy Taranaki union that has gone to the Chiefs - and Te Puni to make a statement and hire someone like Robbie Deans or John Mitchell to get the Hurricanes back in the running with the other New Zealand sides?

Robbie Deans certainly knows how to breed success from his time with the Crusaders and even if his time at the Wallabies ended in ignominy, he still managed to get the best out of a young crop of players, i.e. Will Genia, Quade Cooper, James O'Connor, Kurtley Beale, etc. and made them World Cup semifinalists - they were also the last Southern Hemisphere side to beat the All Blacks too.

Whatever the case, the Canes do need to act now, or fans will not turn up to Westpac Stadium having better things to do on their Friday and Saturday nights rather than watch mediocrity and lack of ambition.