‘Dangerous’ Chiefs growing in self-belief
Assistant coach Neil Barnes says the Chiefs are more dangerous because of growing self-belief surging through the squad after their latest dramatic Super Rugby Aotearoa victory.
Before their four-match winning streak in the last month, the Chiefs had so often been on the wrong end of tight contests since the first of 11 successive defeats since last March, a franchise record of consecutive losses.
In fact, four of those defeats were decided at the death, but the Chiefs have turned the tables and won four on the trot since ending their losing run against the Hurricanes on March 20.
Those victories were only sealed in the final minutes, or on the last play, with Damian McKenzie scoring the telling points in their last three nail-biting triumphs.
Barnes said their improving fortunes were down to winning those ‘‘little moments’’ which went against them last year.
‘‘On Saturday night, there were two or three things in the last five or six minutes which were about players doing their jobs in the week and applying that when it mattered on the paddock,’’ Barnes said.
‘‘We’ve been winning those moments this year. Last year, they weren’t happening. But we had a bucket load of 20-year-olds in their first season of Super Rugby, they’re now a year older, and know what it’s about, and it’s starting to come to them.’’
Their luck has improved, too, because lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi didn’t know much about his match-winning turnover in the 80th minute.
‘‘Honestly, when I was on the ball, I had my eyes closed the whole time. I don’t really remember what happened,’’ Ah Kuoi told Stuff.
Crusaders captain Scott Barrett challenged the decision to award the Chiefs a penalty for the turnover, but there was no evidence of illegal interference from the 21-year-old lock.
‘‘When they went to refer it, I was [thinking] ‘this could go either way’, so I was happy it went ours,’’ Ah Kuoi said.
The Chiefs have hit form at the right time and if they beat the struggling Hurricanes in Hamilton on Friday, and the Blues lose to the Crusaders on Sunday, a place in the Super Rugby Aotearoa final on May 8 is theirs.
Their turnaround under firstyear coach Clayton McMillan is gathering momentum and Barnes said it was because the players have rediscovered ‘‘self-belief’’, something that eluded them in last year’s winless Aotearoa campaign under Warren Gatland.
‘‘Sometimes if you’re not getting get the results you want, you start doubting what you’re doing,’’ Barnes said. ‘‘They’re starting to believe in themselves and have become even more dangerous when they actually know they’re better than their opponent.’’
After the horrible injury toll throughout Kiwi teams in recent weeks, including the loss of All Blacks captain Sam Cane for the Chiefs, Barnes said there were no new injuries to report from last weekend.
The return of loose forward Lachlan Boshier offset Cane’s absence somewhat. He lasted 70 minutes against the Crusaders and was a huge presence around the breakdown on an excellent comeback after a stellar campaign in 2020.
It was Boshier’s first Super Rugby match this year after injuring his foot in pre-season.
Boshier said he didn’t notice the injury, which was a Lisfranc fracture, after testing his foot in a rare club appearance for New Plymouth Old Boys the previous Saturday.
‘‘I did it in pre-season and didn’t really know because I thought it was just a bruise,’’ he said.
‘‘[The issues were with] twisting and stepping off it, but playing 80 minutes for my club really helped with my confidence.’’