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It is amazing how quickly in sport the mood can swing and the vocabulary can change, and while the Cell C Sharks are still in a dominant position in Vodacom Super Rugby, defeat at Loftus has elicited a change of outlook in Durban.
Of course, the injuries have helped accelerate the shift towards a more negative frame of mind. No team can afford to lose their top flyhalf and their first choice No 5 lock for the season and not have it impact on them.
And it doesn't stop there, with Cobus Reinach also missing the Waratahs match on Saturday, and Anton Bresler now also effectively out for the season as he undergoes a shoulder operation, meaning that changes have had to be made to what a short while ago was a smoothly operating machine.
Fortunately for the Sharks, the Waratahs are missing one of their most dangerous weapons in the form of fullback Israel Folau, but there is good reason for Sharks fans to be approaching Saturday evening's game feeling less buoyant and arrogant than they were before previous games.
There would have been good news for them though had they attended director of rugby Jake White's press conference at Kings Park on Thursday: he made it clear that one thing he wants to make a trend at the Sharks is that when they suffer a loss they use the disappointment and anger by taking it out on their next opponents.
That appears to have been the focus for White and the Sharks this week, and the coach was pleased to announce that for once his team were able to get through a Thursday morning practice without sustaining a late injury.
"The team as it has been announced will be the one that takes the field on Saturday, which is a pleasing change for us," smiled White.
"From a morale point of view, it is important not to react too badly to last week's defeat. It was our first loss, and it is unlikely any team will go through an entire Super Rugby tournament unbeaten. We are back at home, we are unbeaten and home and we want to try and bounce back from last week with a good performance.
"To me it is important that we let other teams know that when they play against us after we have been beaten it will become a lot harder for them as we show the pent up frustration of the loss. So it's all about bouncing back with a win in front of our crowd. We will take whatever win we can, but I would like to do it in style. We have the four quickest guys in the province playing for us at the back, so I am confident we can do that."
There was just a hint from White at the press conference that there could be a slight switch of emphasis from his team. Whereas last week in Pretoria his team played what was effectively Bulls rugby, and White's game is normally based around a kicking template, the changes to the forward pack and at halfback may have pressed him into playing towards alternative strengths.
Certainly the long-term absence of Bresler and Pieter-Steph du Toit means the forward dominance in the set-phases is no longer the given that it was, and with four loose-forwards in the pack now that Willem Alberts has shifted to second row, there is the option of being more mobile.
Whereas last week it was all about the Sharks going out to confirm their domination and take control fo the South African conference, that has changed to "defending" the domination as defeat this week, coupled with a possible Bulls win over the Chiefs at Loftus, will see the Sharks slip back into the chasing pack.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Friday
Crusaders v Hurricanes, Christchurch 08.35
The Crusaders have been patchy and the Hurricanes have played their best rugby late in the game, but at home the former dominators of this competition should be favoured to win.
Prediction: Crusaders to win.
Melbourne Rebels v Brumbies, Melbourne 10.40
The Rebels can be difficult at home but the Brumbies' pack is working well and Tevita Kuridrani, who was missed last weekend against the Stormers, is back in the midfield. Christian Lealiifano is also back in the squad for the first time this season after a long-term injury lay-off, but he will be playing off the bench.
Prediction: Brumbies to win.
Saturday
Blues v Highlanders, Auckland 08.35
The Blues have been rocked by the news that their All Black halfback Piri Weepu has been ruled out of rugby for at least four weeks after suffering what doctors have described as a minor stroke. However, Ma'a Nonu and Jerome Kaino, two World Cup winning All Blacks, have been returned to the starting team for this game, and that should be enough of a lift for the Blues to give them the edge at home against the Highlanders team they lost to in Dunedin in the opening game.
Reds v DHL Stormers, Brisbane 10.40
The Stormers have had a difficult week, as it started with the president of the Western Province union addressing them and informing them of the changes that will take place when they get home. There are all sorts of options available to the Stormers as they look for reinforcements to the management team, but for now it appears Allister Coetzee and his assistants are safe until the end of Super Rugby, the change being that they will now be answerable to a director of rugby, expected to be Gert Smal. How has this all impacted on the Stormers overseas? Jean de Villiers wasn't altogether clear on the point when he spoke to the Cape media earlier in the week by tele-call, but what is clear is that in the backline at least they are not as under-strength as they have been at some stages this year. The critical area of concern is lock, where they will be fielding their sixth pairing in as many games, and are down to starting with a young player, Jurie van Vuuren, who is essentially a blindside flank rather than a lock. If they can get their lineouts right they stand a chance, but the Reds owe a South African team one after the flak they copped from our referees over the past two weekends.
Prediction: Reds to win.
Vodacom Bulls v Chiefs, Pretoria 15.00
This game will be a clash of the South African way against the New Zealand way. Last week the Sharks played to the South African template, and came off second best, but the Chiefs should mix up their game a lot more than the Durbanites did and will thus pose questions that the Sharks didn't. Of course, it will also help the Chiefs if they don't lose both their halfbacks within the first 10 minutes of the start of the game. Flip van der Merwe is still injured so Victor Matfield leads again and he is an inspirational captain, as last week showed. The question on Saturday though will be whether the Bulls can summon up the same passion and desperate desire to win that they displayed against their more hated enemy. That may be asking a bit much, which is why the Chiefs have a chance, even at Loftus.
Prediction: Chiefs to win.
Cell C Sharks v Waratahs, Durban 17.05
The Sharks have made a whopping 10 changes if you factor in the positional switches since last week's defeat to the Bulls at Loftus. Is that a sign that Jake White is reliving his annus-horribilus of 2006 when he was the Springbok coach and panicked when injuries hit? It might be premature to say that, but the selection of Lwazi Mvovo at fullback is an interesting one, just as the selection of Bryan Habana at centre for a match against Ireland in Dublin in 2006 was interesting. Most of White's hunches come off though, and he does have a point when he talks about the extra pace the Sharks now have to burn out wide. If that is also a hint that the Sharks will be more attacking and use the width of the field more it might also sit better with the Durban public than last week's kicking strategy. If the Sharks get that right, and the Waratahs also play as well as they can, the Kings Park game could be one of the best of the season. That is if the humidity down here doesn't turn it into a wet weather game…
Prediction: Sharks to scrape it.
Now it's about Sharks defending domination.
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