WHAT A SHOCKER
Chiefs coach stunned after mauling in Canberra
Chiefs coach Colin Cooper admits he was left ‘‘in shock’’ following his team’s Super Rugby slaughter at the hands of the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday night.
In an error-strewn display, the visitors were hammered 54-17 at GIO Stadium, in what was the far from ideal way to mark captain Brodie Retallick’s 100-game milestone. It leaves them in a 0-2 hole with plenty of work to do.
If there was ever a fixture to choose for next up, the Chiefs have it next Saturday, at home against the Sunwolves. However, even they now can’t be taken lightly, following their agonising one-point loss to the Waratahs.
It will be a Chiefs unit with severe soul searching on the agenda. First up against the Highlanders they failed to close a game out, but a week on they were simply blown apart in all facets, shooting themselves in the foot with their own mistakes and seeing a hungry home team need no second invitation as they cantered in for eight tries.
Speaking to Stuff not long after fulltime, Cooper was struggling to come to terms with what he had just presided over.
‘‘We’re all in shock, really, and surprised with that result,’’ he said. ‘‘They played better than us everywhere, and I guess it’s one of those games you just want to forget.
‘‘I’m a bit speechless.’’ Contributing to that feeling would have been that, in all his previous 122 games as a Super Rugby head coach (last year with the Chiefs and 2003-2010 with the Hurricanes), Cooper had never before had a side concede eight tries, or 50 points.
For the Chiefs, it was the first time they had had a non-South African team run in eight tries against them. There was eight in the 61-17 walloping from the Bulls in the 2009 final and nine in the crazy 72-65 win over the Lions in Johannesburg in 2010.
The last time the club suffered a defeat this big was the same
37-point margin in the 45-8 loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington in
2014. This is the first time since
2011 the Chiefs have opened their season with back-to-back losses.
After watching the Brumbies pile on three tries in a 10-minute first-half burst, and add another
‘‘We’re all in shock, really . . . I guess it’s one of those games you just want to forget.’’ Colin Cooper, above
‘‘This is the first time since 2011 the Chiefs have opened their season with back-toback losses.’’
couple closer to the break, the writing was on the wall for the Chiefs when down 33-10 at halftime.
Cooper said there was a mix of stern words but also confidence they could respond, only for the mood at fulltime to be ‘‘very sombre and quiet’’.
‘‘They were more accurate, their collision area was more accurate, they got better ball, when we made mistakes they capitalised,’’ he said, believing the errors were more down to duress from the opposition than being unforced.
‘‘They put great pressure on, they did really well in slowing our ball down, and we didn’t react very well. When we carried we weren’t direct enough.’’
The metres-carried stats of 463-165 tell a story, as do the defenders beaten (23-12), clean breaks (15-2) and offloads (13-3), with Cooper believing they were undone by a combination of missed tackles (23 of 104 attempted) as well as their structure not being as good as it should be. Added to the worry is a pack which got belted at scrum time and with the rolling maul.
‘‘We’ve got to fix it quickly,’’ Cooper said. ‘‘So we’ll be doing everything we can to be prepared and ready for the Sunwolves. We’re very disappointed.’’
The Chiefs also didn’t escape the Australian capital without further injury worries. Hooker Nathan Harris didn’t return after halftime due to a sore neck, lock Michael Allardice has a knee problem and No 8 Tyler Ardron is going through concussion protocols.
The backline is set for a boost, however, with Cooper saying midfielder Alex Nankivell (ankle), centre/winger Sean Wainui (wrist) and first fiveeighth/fullback Marty McKenzie (hip) are all likely to be in contention for next weekend.