Improved Blues put Chiefs on edge

It pays not to read too much into opening skirmishes in Super Rugby. Remember last year when the ‘‘fatty’’ Hurricanes got tuned up by the Brumbies in Canberra and were being ridiculed by Australian commentators for their lack of skills, fitness and discipline around the buffet table?

Both the Chiefs and Highlanders will be intent on moving quickly on from the first New Zealand derby of the season on Friday night in Dunedin, won 24-15 by Dave Rennie’s men as they banked an unlikely bonus point victory. It was a bizarre contest, to say the least, the dominant hosts spurning chance after chance, and the visitors pouncing on probably the only three openings they saw.

The Chiefs, of course, were ecstatic to snap a six-match losing skid against the Highlanders, and also secure maximum points against a southern outfit who had won 11 of their previous 12 outings under the roof of ‘‘The Glasshouse’’. But Rennie is too savvy an operator to be smug about a performance that, truth be told, bore no reflection to what went up on the scoreboard.

And the Highlanders were rightly concerned about their inability to cash in on a massive territory and possession advantage, and a surfeit of squandered chances.

Luckily for both teams, their coaches are pragmatic men not prone to panic at the first hint of disarray, or in Rennie’s case, overreact to a decent dose of good fortune.

‘‘We’re pretty disappointed with some aspects of our game,’’ reflected Rennie whose team came through unscathed by injury. ‘‘We kicked aimlessly and battled to build any pressure. While we didn’t actually tackle that well our scramble was excellent and the boys showed a lot of character.

‘‘Maybe we weren’t at our best but we managed to hang in there. A lot of these tight affairs are about taking opportunities, and James Lowe grabbed a couple early . . . you take that luck. Then probably first time we got down their half in the second half we scored off a special play and that put us clear.

‘‘We’re rapt to win, rapt to get five points, but I think we’ll be better for the hitout.’’

With the in-form Blues up next in Hamilton on Friday night, they’ll need to be.

‘‘They were impressive [in Melbourne] and with the type of players they’ve got if you give them space and don’t tackle well you’ll get caned,’’ added Rennie. ‘‘So we’ve got a week to turn that around.’’

Brown has a few more issues with the Crusaders up next on Saturday night in Dunedin.

Skipper Ben Smith is almost no chance of that game after taking a head knock 28 minutes in. ‘‘We won’t risk him around concussion. He gets one or two a year and we’re Maybe we weren’t at our best but we managed to hang in there. always really conservative with them. I’ve got no worries about leaving him out,’’ said Brown.

Halfback Aaron Smith is fine physically, though his mental state is another matter after he gifted the Chiefs their opening score amid a generally uncertain performance.

‘‘When he wants to prove to everyone he’s the best player in the world he tends to try to do too much himself,’’ noted Brown.

Brown hoped to get Pat Osborne, Jason Emery and maybe even Richard Buckman back on to the paddock as potential backline options to face the Crusaders, though Ben Smith’s absence left him well short on the leadership front.

‘‘We’re down to our fifth captain, with the first four choices unavailable. We’ll draw one out of the hat this week, and it will be a bit of a surprise to everyone who gets it.’’