By CHRIS RATTUE
The Chiefs have a fortnight to get their campaign on the right track, and coach Kevin Greene concedes the next clash, against the Blues, is probably make-or-break time.
The Blues and Chiefs have a bye before they meet at Eden Park, where the Hamilton-based side had narrow defeats in 1996 and 1998.
The good news for the Chiefs is that captain Deon Muir should be back. They appear to have little chance of turning the season around without his leadership.
While Greene believes the Chiefs can still make their first semifinal, they will have to do so after their worst three-game start.
The loss to the Reds 27-13 in Brisbane on Saturday night leaves the Chiefs with one bonus point, compared to their previous worst, when they had two points after three rounds in 1999.
The Chiefs were exasperated by the intrusions of touch judge Wayne Erickson at Ballymore, which led to the sinbinning of flanker Jonno Gibbes for rucking, and of lock Keith Robinson and Reds wing Wendell Sailor after they engaged in an ineffective bout of fisticuffs.
For some rugby watchers, the incident between Robinson and Sailor was hardly a crime worthy of dismissal.
But under modern rulings, the pair were certainly inviting more Erickson intervention and referee Jonathan Kaplan's yellow card.
Greene said: "I couldn't see the Gibbes incident, but Robinson and Sailor didn't land any punches.
"It seems like whenever we have Erickson as a touch judge he is constantly on the field.
"Still, it's not for me to tell him how to do his job."
What disappointed Greene most was his side's inability to turn opportunity into points, and a lack of skill and quality front-foot ball through stringing rucks together.
Adding to the frustration is that the Chiefs appeared to make progress against the Crusaders the previous week, when they dominated ruck ball.
"It was ugly - we haven't made any progress at all," Greene said.
"There was a lack of finish ... the skill levels were really down. We were back to where we were the week before the Crusaders.
"I go back to that comment from Eddie Jones [former Brumbies coach and now Wallaby coach] when he said if your efficiency is up 3 per cent you can win by 30, and if it's down by 3 per cent you can lose by 30.
"Our confidence is still okay, but we need that elusive win.
"The trouble is we've already lost two matches at home - we really need to win this next game.
"The Reds lost five out of their first six last year and still made the semis.
"It's been proven you can make the semifinals from this sort of position," Greene said.
Wallaby wing Ben Tune and No 8 Toutai Kefu were among the stars for the Reds in a match that did not rise to the top of Super 12 standards.
Reds coach Mark McBain said: "It was a scrappy game and it was made to be scrappy through a lot of hands in the rucks."
Super 12 schedule and results
Greene: It's now make-or-break
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