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Canterbury - Crusaders flyhalf Richie Mo'unga admits his three missed penalty kicks could have cost his side had they not had a healthy lead against the Highlanders.
The Crusaders secured a comfortable 17-0 victory in conditions so bad that a state of emergency was declared in Christchurch due to flooding.
Mo'unga struggled to adapt to the conditions and shanked three straight-forward penalties from 35 metres out.
The Crusaders will be hoping to make their first final since 2014 when they clash with the Chiefs at the semi-final stage on Saturday.
The Chiefs have had the better of their rivals in knockout matches, winning back-to-back semi-finals against the Crusaders in 2013 and 2014.
The last time the teams met was in May with the Crusaders winning a thriller 31-24 in Fiji.
And Mo'unga is well aware that he can't be as wasteful from the tee in Saturday's semi-final as it is unlikely to be as one-sided as the Highlanders match.
"It's finals footy, you've got to make the most of it. It could have been different so I'm pretty lucky that our forwards dominated and we were up by quite a bit," Mo'unga told Stuff.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old says the conditions played a major role in his inaccuracy as he was unable to stabilise his planting foot due to the boggy surface and frigid conditions.
"I couldn't really control the ball. I think with my left-foot being numb I couldn't really feel it. I think that was a huge factor," Mo'unga said.
"As a goal-kicker, I always try and get them over but [Saturday] was a bit tough and hopefully next week it's not as bad."
Just like last weekend's quarter-final against the Highlanders, Mo'unga said the team was treating each game as a final.
"Coming into that game there was no word 'quarter'. Final is the key word. You don't get second chances, so it's about making the most of every opportunity and it comes down to a few key moments," Mo'unga added.
