‘Grumpy’ Chiefs in need of a big boost
Before a ball is even booted in anger in Canberra tonight, expect a fair few grumpy men on the paddock at GIO Stadium.
After a week of kicking themselves following their galling roundone Super Rugby defeats, both the Brumbies and Chiefs arrive desperate to atone, and avoid an early catchup game on their rivals from a position of 0-2.
For the Brumbies, it’s another shot in front of their home fans, after they went from 10-0 up early against the Rebels last Friday only to lose 34-27.
For the Chiefs, it’s a road-trip which they’ll be highly motivated to bag points from, following their 30-27 home loss to the Highlanders last Friday, when they coughed up an 11-point final-quarter lead against the 14-man southerners.
A failure to do the basics and close out that game was a harsh early lesson for what is a very young side, though this week the Chiefs are massively boosted by the return of star playmaker Damian McKenzie from an ankle niggle.
With the All Blacks utility back in the saddle at No 10, the same sort of slipups should be eradicated as the Chiefs look to avoid their first back-to-back defeats to open a season since 2011, the year they last missed out on the playoffs.
‘‘We’re obviously looking for a lift in our performance,’’ assistant coach Neil Barnes said. ‘‘We weren’t that happy with how we closed the game out last week.
‘‘Like all teams at this time of year, you’ve got a lot of things that you’re working on and trying to get together, but [we’re] certainly unhappy with the result last week and the boys are pretty motivated to put that right.’’
The Australian capital hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Chiefs – just three wins (and one draw) from 13 – though the last trip there in 2016 ended in a 48-23 victory – their biggest winning margin against the Brumbies.
An extra incentive for the visitors is that captain Brodie Retallick will be bringing up 100 games, becoming only the sixth player at the club to do so after Liam Messam, Tanerau Latimer, Hika Elliot, Stephen Donald and Sam Cane.
To that end, the Chiefs could do worse than marking that milestone with a much tidier lineout display, with their 7/11 effort against the Highlanders ranking as the worst of any side last weekend and stunting their options.
If they can be given a solid foundation with which to attack, then the mind boggles at what the X-factor in the backline can produce. Anton Lienert-Brown was outstanding first-up, leading the competition for defenders beaten (10) and offloads (five), while 19-year-old winger Etene Nanai-Seturo is coming off two tries on debut.
A matchup out wide with former Chief Toni Pulu (cheekbone), or former Waikato rep Henry Speight (hip), is off the cards, however, with that duo both sustaining injuries against the Rebels.
The same goes for star openside David Pocock, who was concussed early in that fixture. His absence should allow the Chiefs extra breathing room at the breakdown.