'We let ourselves and our supporters down': Chiefs out to make statement
Having smashed Moana Pasifika 59-12 at Mt Smart Stadium earlier in the season, the Chiefs will be hoping to secure another big win against the Pacific Islanders when they square off in one week’s time. If they can also get a win against the Blues in Hamilton on Saturday night, that will leave the Clayton McMillan-coached side sitting pretty heading into the trans-Tasman portion of the season.
Two matches at home to round out their Kiwi derbies is not a bad position to be in but McMillan will be looking for a far more impressive performance against the Blues this weekend than they put out on the field against the Crusaders two weekends ago in what was their first match back at Waikato Stadium since May of last year.
With Covid forcing the Chiefs to spend the final three matches of last year’s campaign in Australia and the opening rounds of this season’s competition being hosted in Queenstown, the Chiefs went seven matches a row without playing in the Waikato and their homecoming late last month wasn’t exactly what Chiefs fans would have hoped for.
After besting the Crusaders 24-21 in Christchurch earlier in the season, the Chiefs were outplayed by the same opposition in Hamilton and were thoroughly outclassed at the breakdown, eventually falling to a comprehensive 34-19 defeat. They also lost by a narrow margin to the Blues at Eden Park earlier this season, with Bryn Gatland missing a last-minute kick that could have changed the result, and McMillan will be hoping the Chiefs can turn around their fortunes at Waikato Stadium on Saturday night and amend two of 2022’s wrongs in one fell swoop.
“The Blues, they’re a quality side. They’ve got a great roster and a good coaching staff and they’ve been ticking away nicely,” McMillan said.
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“We felt like we definitely had our moments against them last time and despite the injuries that we’ve had, we feel we’re really well-placed to give them a good nudge this week on our own track, which is important to us because we felt like we let ourselves and our supporters down when we played the Crusaders at home after such a long lay-off and we owe it to them more than anything to show a clearer picture of our Chiefs identity.”
“We just lost a lot of races, particularly around the breakdown,” said McMillan of the Chiefs’ last defeat on their home patch. “We were just slow to the punch and there was a big focus for us last week and we saw some rapid improvements.
“We won’t rest on our laurels in that regard because the Blues are really combative and like to challenge in that space so we’ve just got to keep being honest there.”
The Chiefs have taken plenty of lessons out of their last three clashes against their traditional foes, including their narrow win over the Hurricanes in Wellington last weekend, where the home side scored two tries in the final 15 minutes of the match to bring themselves within a point of the Chiefs, who at one point had held a 15-point advantage.
Somewhat ironically, it was the Chiefs who turned up the heat in the latter stages of their first clash with the Hurricanes last season to turn a 26-7 deficit at halftime into a 35-29 victory.
“I’ve learnt over the last sort of 18 months to never get comfortable, no matter how far you are in front,” McMillan said. “There’s plenty of evidence in games this year where teams have come back from what seems an impossible position to get up and win games so the lesson from that is you’ve just got to stay on the whole time because to have moments where you go to sleep will definitely result in the opposition taking that opportunity to get themselves back in the game.”
While the Chiefs nailed all their opportunities in the second half against the Hurricanes last year, the same couldn’t be said about their loss to the Blues earlier this season and McMillan has implored his men to capitalise when the chances inevitably arise at Waikato Stadium.
“You only get a few opportunities in games to win them and we had ours and we didn’t nail them and the Blues did and that’s why they won the game,” he said.
“What I can say about Blues and Chiefs fixtures is that we’re pretty close geographically, there’s been a real deeply entrenched rivalry long before I came here. It’s pretty evident when you walk through the doors that they’re games you get excited about. There’s a lot of friendships and we’ve got a lot of guys that live in Auckland or play for Auckland [teams] so there’s a familiarity there but there’s certainly no love lost.”
Saturday evening’s fixture will kick off at 7:05pm NZT.
Comments on RugbyPass
Absolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
5 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
5 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to comments