Warren Gatland's nightmare in Super Rugby Aotearoa continued on Saturday morning as his Chiefs side were beaten 32-19 at home by the Crusaders.
It is a record eighth successive loss for the Chiefs and they have now also lost six home matches on the spin.
Gatland has already received unwanted headlines, with the Kiwi media accusing him of putting himself before his players because he is taking a year-long sabbatical to coach the Lions next year.
But he has also been the victim of a miserable run of luck, with yet another controversial refereeing decision thwarting his side in his home town of Hamilton.
With the Chiefs trailing just 20-19, a crucial turning point came in the 61st minute as referee Ben O'Keefe awarded a try to Sevu Reece despite TMO evidence suggesting the ball went forward from Quentin Strange in the build-up to the score.
O'Keefe left the 15,000 crowd perplexed by allowing it to stand, and Gatland frustrated.
The five tries-to one win puts the Crusaders seven points clear at the top of the table with two games to play. They need to win just one of those to take the title.
For Gatland's Chiefs, the are facing up to a potential clean sweep of defeats in the new competition unless they can muster something special away to the Crusaders next week.
It's a far cry from the success Gatland achieved with Wales, including a record-breaking 14-match winning run in 2018/19.
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