[2015 Super Rugby] Chiefs vs. Force (Round 11) 24/04/2015

[TRF Mr Fish]

On my phone but setting these up to accommodate discussion...

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

So Marty McKenzie gets the first shot at 10 for the Chiefs since Cruden's injury - though it sounds like he was going to be given the 10 jumper against the Force regardless.

Chiefs: Tom Marshall, Bryce Heem, Charlie Ngatai, Sonny Bill Williams, Tim Nanai-Williams, Marty McKenzie, Brad Weber; Michael Leitch, Sam Cane, Johan Bardoul; Brodie Retallick, Matt Symons; Siate Tokolahi, Hika Elliot, Mitchell Graham. Replacements: Quentin MacDonald, Pauliasi Manu Ben Tamfiefuna, Michael Fitzgerald, Liam Squire, Augustine Pulu, Damian McKenzie, Andrew Horrell.

Force: Dane Haylett-Petty; Luke Morahan, Kyle Godwin, Luke Burton, Nick Cummins; Sias Ebersohn, Ian Prior; Ben McCalman, Matt Hodgson (captain), Angus Cottrell; Adam Coleman, Steve Mafi; Tetera Faulkner, Nathan Charles, Pekahou Cowan Replacements: Heath Tessmann, Chris Heiberg, Oliver Hoskins, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Kane Koteka, Ryan Louwrens, Junior Rasolea, Marcel Brache.

 

[austingtir]

Probably the only half decent red card iv seen this year!

Now are the Cheifs gunna do a Saders and totally muff it with the other team a man down... I doubt it.

 

[nzlizard]

Chiefs need to get the BP this game, that will be the target.

 

[austingtir]

There must be some Frenchmen in this Force scrum.....

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

A win's a win. Disappointing to see the Chiefs defence collapse like it did, Rennie will not be impressed.

 

[nzlizard]

A win's a win. Disappointing to see the Chiefs defense collapse like it did, Rennie will not be impressed.

Pretty much sums it up, after last weeks defensive effort this is a big drop in intensity.

On the plus Marty McKenzie at 1st five was solid, and on the whole the starting lineup looked really good for about 45ish minutes, was really impressed with that period.

Credit to the Force they never gave up and showed great heart.

 

[bazwaz]

...Good to see the Chiefs topping the Super XV log again. NZ franchises leading the way again by the looks.
Losing Cruden is a big blow to the Chiefs and NZ's aspirations of winning this years RWC but with the McKenzie brothers and Horrel it's good to know the Chiefs still have great depth at flyhalf.
And how good is TNW...?? Hika Reid also accruing some good points. Plenty of positives but still plenty of room for improvement.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

There were a few positives to take out of the game.

Mitch Graham has been fantastic since given his first start a few weeks ago. With Franks heading overseas and Woodcock and Crockett both possibilities to leave after the World Cup, Graham could very much be worth a look in. The whole scrum obviously performed very well.

When Cane went off the Force starting getting very quick ball, Leitch and Bardoul between them should've focused on slowing down the Force's ball. I suppose this emphasises how important Cane is to the Chiefs.

Weber had a very good game at halfback. With Ellis failing to impress and Pulu being (rightly) relegated to the bench, could Weber be a World Cup bolter? It's unlikely, I think Ellis is still likely to get the third halfback berth, but Weber is on form.

McKenzie was solid at first five - in particular he kicked goals well and got the backline running. I said earlier in the season that the McKenzie brothers are actually better back ups to Cruden than Anscombe was because Anscombe plays quite a different style of game to the other three. You'd have to think that Marty will be given the 10 jersey next week again against the Rebels in Melbourne.

The backline functioned well on attack. Heem probably had his worst game of the season but it's not like he was horrible. I'd still be tempted to start Heem and Lowe and bring TNW on as an impact player to do some damage later on, but I'd probably be happy with any combination of the three. I don't know if we'll see any more of Gear this season, unless there are injuries. Probably next week would be his best chance.

The Chiefs have a reasonable run in to the end of the season. Coming up they have: Rebels (A), BYE, Hurricanes (A), Bulls (H), Highlanders (A), Reds (A), Hurricanes (H). Every single one of those games the Chiefs should be favourites for. They can probably afford to drop maybe two of those matches and still take out the NZ conference (assuming they beat the Hurricanes once).

 

[nickdnz]

There were a few positives to take out of the game.

Mitch Graham has been fantastic since given his first start a few weeks ago. With Franks heading overseas and Woodcock and Crockett both possibilities to leave after the World Cup, Graham could very much be worth a look in. The whole scrum obviously performed very well.

When Cane went off the Force starting getting very quick ball, Leitch and Bardoul between them should've focused on slowing down the Force's ball. I suppose this emphasises how important Cane is to the Chiefs.

Weber had a very good game at halfback. With Ellis failing to impress and Pulu being (rightly) relegated to the bench, could Weber be a World Cup bolter? It's unlikely, I think Ellis is still likely to get the third halfback berth, but Weber is on form.

McKenzie was solid at first five - in particular he kicked goals well and got the backline running. I said earlier in the season that the McKenzie brothers are actually better back ups to Cruden than Anscombe was because Anscombe plays quite a different style of game to the other three. You'd have to think that Marty will be given the 10 jersey next week again against the Rebels in Melbourne.

The backline functioned well on attack. Heem probably had his worst game of the season but it's not like he was horrible. I'd still be tempted to start Heem and Lowe and bring TNW on as an impact player to do some damage later on, but I'd probably be happy with any combination of the three. I don't know if we'll see any more of Gear this season, unless there are injuries. Probably next week would be his best chance.

The Chiefs have a reasonable run in to the end of the season. Coming up they have: Rebels (A), BYE, Hurricanes (A), Bulls (H), Highlanders (A), Reds (A), Hurricanes (H). Every single one of those games the Chiefs should be favourites for. They can probably afford to drop maybe two of those matches and still take out the NZ conference (assuming they beat the Hurricanes once).

That's a generous assessment.

I don't think I've seen a back-line make more handling errors trying to push rubbish passes. It was really a few individual moments of quality that got them the tries in the second half, they managed no sustained pressure.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

That's a generous assessment.

I don't think I've seen a back-line make more handling errors trying to push rubbish passes. It was really a few individual moments of quality that got them the tries in the second half, they managed no sustained pressure.

From what I remember it was mainly forwards that would lose the ball in the back line. I remember Bardoul making two or three bad errors which could have cost tries (one was almost a definite with a four on one overlap).

 

[Jaguares]

Good away game of Force

Any Chiefs supporter know where I can buy the jersey with the "AON" sponsor on the collar?

Online store, obviously

 

[Larksea]

interesting game from the chiefs, at times they look like potential champions and at others they looked ordinary.

But looking at the result it was basically perfect, they got 5 points, rested some key players and blooded a new 10.

The defense would worry them a bit, going into the game with the best defense in the comp then letting a few trys in. Credit to the force though the couple of times in the game the chiefs D looked fractured the Force made it count.

 

[MotherRucker1]

I don't think I've seen a back-line make more handling errors trying to push rubbish passes.

Try watching some more Crusaders matches