Players missing for Chiefs

patterns and combinations are already bedded in, is the question Chiefs fans would be asking themselves over and over this week, ahead of a game which could have major consequences for their title hopes.

They sit fourth in the Kiwi conference, one point back from the Highlanders, 10 off the Hurricanes and 11 behind the Crusaders (who have played an extra game), and the importance of home advantage come the playoffs cannot be overstated.

Coach Colin Cooper would have every right to feel aggrieved, though he was never going to rock the boat – first year in his new gig, of course – and has maintained throughout it was just part of the bigger picture and it was up to him and his staff to plan accordingly.

What he would have been hoping for, though, is that come this point, even without his All Blacks he could rely on a fair chunk of experience and talent. However, the injury toll which hammered the Chiefs early in the season has arisen again, with 16 currently sidelined, before the pulling of internationals Nathan Harris, Brodie Retallick, Damian McKenzie and Anton LienertBrown on top of that.

This week loose forward Mitch Jacbobson and backline utility Luteru Laulala have been flown over, in a group of 27 which already includes another potential Super Rugby debutant in flanker Matt Matich, and a total of 11 players who didn’t even have a contract at season’s start.

They may have battled admirably through their injury woes so far, and pulled off an important, gritty win against the Stormers in Cape Town last week, which Cooper felt would embed plenty of self belief, but the $2.35 at the NZ TAB for this weekend seems fairly generous given the circumstances, against a Sharks side which hammered the Highlanders 38-12 two rounds back.

If the Chiefs are to overcome the odds, it would surely go down as one of the best wins in the club’s history.