More than any other side, the Hurricanes have had to cope with coaching distractions in 2020 but a Super Rugby Aotearoa game with the Chiefs in Hamilton on Sunday meant there was no time to look back.
The former All Black and assistant coach for the side, Carlos Spencer, was released by the franchise management during the week. This followed the earlier belated coaching change when John Plumtree was appointed an assistant All Blacks coach with Jason Holland stepping up to the head coach role.
Coming so late in the side's preparation that had an impact on their start in the Super Rugby season and they would be hoping there wasn't a similar situation with Spencer decision.
Holland said it was unfortunate that Spencer would no longer be part of the coaching team but it was an impact of Covid-19.
"He's a top man, a top coach and it's not an ideal situation but, like a lot of places around New Zealand at the moment with Covid, it's a necessity and unfortunately that's the way it is," he said.
Others in the group would have to pick up on his roles and his loss would be in the imagination he brought and his work ethic in helping players with their skills.
How that would impact the side was unknown as was much associated with the effects of Covid-19, Holland said.
"We're just driving on just looking to get the job done week to week without worrying too much at the moment."
As they prepared to play the Chiefs, Holland said the lesson from their loss to the Crusaders had been about getting the little things right which the Crusaders had capitalised on.
"It's all within our control that's the major thing. They're all little things that we know we can be better at," he said.
That came down to retention of the ball, reducing errors and how they applied pressure while not putting a lot on themselves.
Holland said he wouldn't be surprised if the penalty count in games rose again at the weekend as the result of discussions that had occurred over how games had been refereed in week three but he said that was always a case of being able to adapt to the rulings.
Lock Fraser Armstrong said in the build-up to the return to rugby there had been a lot of attention paid to the law interpretations. But once playing again it was a case of getting used to the way referees were controlling games. And round three showed there was a reduction which showed players were getting used to the rulings.
"Physically, it's a little bit different now [at the breakdowns]. You don't get those big bangs on the head and staying on your feet first is important," Armstrong said.
The reduced head contact did mean he felt fresher after a game, but at the same time, there were other parts of the body that felt the intensity of New Zealand derbies.
One of the problem areas for the Hurricanes had been their lineout and he said that was down to little things not being accurate. They had trained for three days during their bye week on that area.
Armstrong said while the New Zealand competition was tough, it also had advantages. It didn't involve so much air travel as in Super Rugby while it had so far generated a lot of interest from fans which the players appreciated.