NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Rugby / Super Rugby

Rugby: Chiefs' set-piece problems could haunt them in semis

Wynne Gray
By Wynne Gray
NZ Herald·
8 Jul, 2012 05:30 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Match goes to the wire as both teams show their class Kieran Read of the Crusaders dives over to score. Picture / Getty Images.

Match goes to the wire as both teams show their class Kieran Read of the Crusaders dives over to score. Picture / Getty Images.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Troubles for the Chiefs at set-piece - that had a familiar sound, or perhaps it was just an unpleasant flashback.

Those in and around the franchise will paint the issues as a one-off, a confluence of problems which caught up with them as they faced a blowtorch inspection from an all-All Black pack of Crusader forwards.

The late exit through illness of captain Craig Clarke, who calls the lineouts and boosts the second row scrum power with Brodie Retallick, did not help. Nor did the absence of No 8 Kane Thompson who has been dealing with a dodgy back.

The Chiefs rarely looked in the match, their attacking intent was suppressed with the squeeze coming from their rivals' pack, backed by the organisation of Andy Ellis and Daniel Carter. Yet with more patience and vision in the last minutes of the match, they could have claimed a draw.

Coach Dave Rennie nodded to the set-piece issues but did not think they were enduring.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It is not a disaster. Our set-piece has been pretty solid all year and we play a lot of our footy off set-piece obviously, so that was disrupted. We had trouble getting things going .

"We'll have to tweak things this week against the Hurricanes.

"That is the thing at this level. You are being examined carefully and they [Crusaders] did a good job on us and we need to make some subtle adjustments if we end up playing them again."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rennie said a bonus-point away win against the Hurricanes on Friday would clear the Chiefs for an assault on the playoffs at Waikato Stadium.

"That would do it for us but we know the Hurricanes want those points too, so it should be a hell of a game," he said.

The Chiefs had fallen well behind at 20-6 against the Crusaders but when they claimed the ball they were able to gain field position and create chances. They felt if they could hold possession they could ramp up the pressure even on such an organised side as the Crusaders and that panned out.

"When you lose as many lineouts as that [six] and a couple of key scrums, they were able to stifle our set-piece," he said. "But we could take a lot of heart from the way we hung in there and almost stole a draw at the end.

Discover more

Super Rugby

Rugby: Blues prop has eye on France and World Cup

06 Jul 05:30 PM
Opinion

Wynne Gray: NZRU should call shots if SBW seeks contract again

06 Jul 05:30 PM
Super Rugby

Rugby: Chiefs wilt under Southern heat

06 Jul 05:30 PM
Super Rugby

Rugby: Lam leaves Eden Park a winner

07 Jul 09:24 AM

"We should have, we had number of opportunities to let the ball go."

They would get another chance to rectify the issues. The match was not the grand final and a summary would show the Crusaders had to win while the Chiefs did not play well but were not far off.

They had plans to unlock the congested Crusaders' defence but were unable to use those and needed to sort that out next time.

"But we got a point, we have a home semi and that is one box we can tick," Rennie said.

The Chiefs beat the Hurricanes 33-14 in their previous pool match in Hamilton, after returning from South Africa..

They had been able to shut down the Hurricanes' loosies and tie up possession to eliminate the sort of counter-attacking chances they devoured. They would need to once more because the Crusaders had dominated them in the set-piece and lost.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rennie said their core game would not alter. They embraced the physical elements needed in any game and expected plenty more this week.

THE FINAL ROUND WHAT'S AT STAKE

The playoff picture became a little clearer after the weekend's games. The Highlanders were mathematically eliminated from the race despite running the Reds close in Brisbane. They finish with four points for the bye, but it will not be enough.

CHIEFS

Secured New Zealand conference in round 16 and results in round 17 mean they are guaranteed a top-two finish, a first-round bye and a home semifinal. They need five points at Wellington to ensure they finish first overall.

STORMERS

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Secured the South African conference with their win and with it a playoff place and a top-three finish. One point next week will secure a top-two finish. The Stormers can finish first, but need one point more than the Chiefs manage, since they will hold the tiebreak on most wins.

BRUMBIES

One point will secure Australian conference, a playoff place and a top-three finish. They need the Stormers to lose and fail to take any points to try to get into the top two.

Only a loss with no points and a Reds five-pointer can stop them winning the Australian section.

CRUSADERS

Three points will secure a playoff place. They cannot finish higher than fourth - a win against the Force will ensure that is where they end up.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

BULLS

Five points will secure a playoff place. They hold a narrowing differential advantage over the Sharks and both teams have an equal number of wins.

SHARKS

Five points will secure a playoff place. They need to match whatever the Bulls do next week and win by 18 points more to claim that tiebreaker on differential.

REDS

If they catch the Bulls or Sharks, they will have a tiebreak advantage on the most wins rule.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

If they catch the Brumbies at the top of the Australian conference, the same applies. If the Reds cannot catch the Brumbies and take an automatic place, they do need one of the wildcard teams to slip up and fail to score four tries at the very least to make the playoffs.

HURRICANES

Need at least two of the teams ahead of them in the wildcard spots to slip up, as they do not hold the tiebreak against any of them.

The Hurricanes do not have as many wins as the Reds (first tie-break) and they have an inferior differential to both the Bulls (29 points worse off) and Sharks (8 points worse off).

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Super Rugby

Super Rugby

Moana Pasifika’s owners 'strongly reject' misuse of public funding claims amid probe

28 Jun 04:55 AM
Super Rugby

'So much life in me': Hurricanes player's partner has 'rare and aggressive' cancer

27 Jun 12:25 AM
Super Rugby

Super Rugby Pacific sees viewership increase

25 Jun 08:25 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Super Rugby

Moana Pasifika’s owners 'strongly reject' misuse of public funding claims amid probe

Moana Pasifika’s owners 'strongly reject' misuse of public funding claims amid probe

28 Jun 04:55 AM

An independent review will look at 'serious' allegations of misusing taxpayer funds.

'So much life in me': Hurricanes player's partner has 'rare and aggressive' cancer

'So much life in me': Hurricanes player's partner has 'rare and aggressive' cancer

27 Jun 12:25 AM
Super Rugby Pacific sees viewership increase

Super Rugby Pacific sees viewership increase

25 Jun 08:25 PM
Premium
Moana Pasifika's future in doubt as key funding contracts end

Moana Pasifika's future in doubt as key funding contracts end

25 Jun 05:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP