Why Warren Gatland and the Chiefs shouldn't get a free pass for their form in Super Rugby Aotearoa
Whichever way the bread is sliced, it’s hard to deny that the Chiefs may be getting a bit of a pass for some of their failings in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
For Warren Gatland, apparently the best coach going around today, his 0-8 record since March certainly leaves more questions than answers as the debrief into what went wrong begins after one last hit out against the Hurricanes.
Some of the reaction from rugby fans in wake of the Chiefs’ worst ever season is both wildly unfair but tinged with a small bit of merit.
Remember Colin Cooper? The knives were certainly out when he coached the Chiefs to a 0-4 start to Super Rugby in 2019.
No such treatment for Warren Gatland, yet the record under his reign is far worse.
Does that mean Gatland should resign? No, such a statement is laughable considering his pedigree, but there is merit in exploring whether or not that coaching style fits with this Chiefs team while also taking a look at some of the talk that has come out of the camp during this difficult run of results.
Explanations for the Chiefs woeful form in Super Rugby Aotearoa cover two key areas.
Firstly, the intensity of playing New Zealand Super Rugby franchises each week and the toll that this takes on players who all compare the Kiwi derbies to test matches. No excuses are being made there, the Chiefs know that they’ve come up short of the standard required.
There’s also been some of the contentious calls by referees, at least one of which clearly cost the Chiefs getting a win against the Blues, and the team itself has been more than a little vocal about that.
The losing margin? Typically, by no more than five points, but that doesn’t tell the real story of what’s gone wrong here, nor should it excuse Gatland getting what feels like an obvious free pass from some in the media.
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Nobody is asking the following question – is the collective coaching style at odds with several of the key playmakers in this team? Does it truly fit the Chiefs DNA?
Flair appears to be missing from the Chiefs game, the playing style feels more scripted when watching with the naked eye.
Look no further than the number of kicks in what is a playing tactic clearly built around territory and little else. This style doesn’t suit Brad Weber and Damian McKenzie, two of the more common kickers for the Chiefs this season, but their efforts are also hampered by the fact that possession isn’t coming as a consequence due to issues winning against the throw at lineout time or not being in a reasonable position to contest in the air.
Opposition has been quick to realise that the best way to hamper any decent go forward ball for the Chiefs is to play for territory themselves, which begins the Chiefs’ cycle of kicking from inside their own half all over again.
As good as Lachlan Boshier has been at the breakdown, many of his turnovers are happening when the Chiefs are defending inside their own 22. It’s all well and good to hail the 25-year old as the new turnover king in New Zealand Rugby, but it actually does little to solve the Chiefs’ problems if it’s always happening when grimly defending their own line.
Not being in the right areas of the park is a big reason why the Chiefs have scored just 12 tries in their seven games this season.
Execution wise, they’ve probably let a handful of opportunities go by the wayside with the attacking go forward ball they’ve had, something that has come from a good driving maul in a lineout that has improved consistently.
The Chiefs’ ability to score first rather than chase the game from behind has been a major problem.
Against the Highlanders where a 24-0 lead was lost for example.
Perhaps this was the only time this entire season that the Chiefs can say they’ve gotten off to a decent start with their noses on front on the scoresheet. In response, the Chiefs have played some truly gritty rugby and have always kept themselves within a sniff of getting the win.
There is just a fortnight remaining in #SuperRugbyAotearoa, and, with one win separating them from the title, the competition is the Crusaders' for the taking.https://t.co/kROf48rHhh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 3, 2020
But again, the key question here shouldn’t be that of bad luck and poor referee decisions, it should be about the way the game is being played because right now it feels foreign from Chiefs sides of the past.
In turn, it’s making the key playmakers look terrible in the eyes of the general rugby pundit.
For the likes of McKenzie, perhaps just shy of speed and general confidence, the key to unlocking that explosive talent is not by directing such a formulaic way of playing, but allowing the Southland-born smiling assassin to play the unstructured razzle-dazzle style that made him one of the hottest properties in the game today out of fullback.
With Clayton McMillan set to step into the Chiefs coaching role once Gatland departs for the 2021 campaign, and an expected shake up of the assistant coaching staff, it will be more than a little interesting to see how the Chiefs go next year in terms of their playing style.
Nobody is questioning that Gatland is a fantastic coach, nobody is questioning the clear and obvious fact that the Chiefs have been on the wrong end of some dubious calls by the referees in Super Rugby Aotearoa, and, certainly, nobody is understating just how intense this competition is for a side that’s 0-8 against quality Kiwi franchises.
What should be questioned is how the Chiefs have opted to play their rugby this season.
The worst thing that can happen here is for fans and media alike to put an asterisk next to it all and put it down to a great coach and a great team simply not getting the rub of the green because the real answer is, as always, probably far more complicated than that.
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
26 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
26 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
26 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
26 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
26 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments