Chiefs no longer fear red and black
Up until last year the Chiefs were respected by the Crusaders, but there was always a sneaking suspicion that if the South Island side hogged possession and maintained a structured defence they could rip them open in the final quarter.
Then Dave Rennie and his assistants Wayne Smith, Tom Coventry and Andrew Strawbridge took over the Hamilton-based franchise. That changed everything.
The revamp of the coaching staff immediately resulted in an inaugural Super Rugby title win for the Chiefs, the first New Zealand side to secure the crown since the Crusaders won it in 2008.
The 37-6 victory over the Sharks in last year’s final was ominous.
It sent out a message that Rennie and co, who recently extended their contracts to 2015, were the real deal and also siphoned some of the fear factor off the Crusaders’ reputation.
‘‘There’s a lot of pride at stake here,’’ Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said ahead of tonight’s match at AMI Stadium.
Defeat would do more than just dent the Crusaders’ honour. It also has the potential to leave them in a state of anxiety.
In addition to handing the Chiefs the New Zealand conference title they may be left in the position of having to beat the Hurricanes in the final roundrobin match in Christchurch next weekend to qualify for the playoffs.
When the two sides last met in Hamilton, on May 24, the Crusaders were lashed for their sloppiness as the Chiefs eased home 28-19.
Dan Carter and Tom Marshall coughed up tries when their clearing kicks were charged down, an early attacking lineout was spoiled by giving away a penalty and the early scrums disintegrated as Wyatt Crockett and Ben Tameifuna grappled at the engagement.
Blackadder would have again cursed those charge-down tries scored by Aaron Cruden and Craig Clarke in his reviews of their previous encounter.
‘‘We actually talked about that during the week. Probably our blockers weren’t doing a good enough job and we gave them free access to our kickers. We will focus a lot on putting pressure on their exit as well.’’
The return of tighthead prop Owen Franks and rake Corey Flynn, who missed that match because of injury, should add some potency to the scrum.
Robbie Fruean’s health issues – he had open-heart surgery on Wednesday for a valve replacement – will also provide some motivation for his mates to win.
Crusaders captain Kieran Read will also be charged with monitoring referee Jonathon White’s ruling of the breakdowns and arguing his side’s case when they believe their ball is being slowed by unsupported bodies or slow ruck exits. There is little doubt that playmaker Aaron Cruden will also be high on the priority list of men to shadow and harangue.
The Chiefs have been rewarded for their clinical attacks from setplays and a blitz defence, led by second five-eighth Ryan Crotty, could suffocate powerful midfield runners Bundee Aki and Charlie Ngatai.
‘‘They stick to it [their plan] and do it really well. In some ways it is maybe easier to analyse but it’s another thing stopping it,’’ Read said.
Results from the previous four matches favour the Chiefs’ 3-1, including last year’s 20-17 semifinal victory in Hamilton. Last night 15,000 tickets had been sold.