Rugby: Dave Rennie fires up over 'cheap shot'

Dave Rennie is unimpressed at what he calls "a cheap shot" on his fullback Damian McKenzie during last Friday's 16-all Chiefs draw with the Blues.

Blues replacement prop Alex Hodgman cleaned out McKenzie with what appeared to be a shoulder to the head.

That was just after McKenzie's old Chiefs teammate Augustine Pulu had hammered the No 15 in a legal hit. The heavy treatment to which Mckenzie was subjected has not affected his form, as he is the biggest metre eater (1115) in the competition and 106m of those came against the Blues, where he was close to the best player on the field.

Suggestions that he might be replaced in the All Blacks squad by Jordie Barrett seem wide of the mark.

Rennie is naturally protective of his asset and feels there should have been a citing.

"What the guys were most fired up about was the cheap shot on Damian, which for some reason went undetected. That's why we had two or three of the guys trying to tell the referee to have another look, but the TMO decided there was nothing in it.

All we are asking for around that is consistency around that. Johnny Fa'auli got a four-week suspension that was far less than a hundred things I have seen in games," says Rennie.

The Chiefs coach also fired up at insinuations that his side, and prop Nepo Laulala, in particular, are overly aggressive in their approach, despite being on the wrong end of the penalty count. The Eden Park derby was a typically niggly affair with plenty of verbal sparring and push and shove. For all the Chiefs' reputation, however, their four yellow cards for 2017 is the lowest of all the New Zealand franchises. The Hurricanes have the most yellows, with nine.

"I don't know how many times we had Tawera Kerr-Barlow, especially, held at the back of rucks. It's an area of the game that refs and TJs need to tidy up, but we are no more guilty than anyone else," Rennie says.

Rennie also confirmed that Charlie Ngatai has been to a specialist on his headaches but that, though he would not be considered for Saturday afternoon's home clash with the Waratahs, he could well come into contention for the keenly anticipated June 9 match against the Hurricanes. Sam McNicol is a non-starter, but Stephen Donald just had to make it through training to line up for his 99th Super Rugby match.

"Charlie saw a specialist last week who recommended that he be unavailable this week, but his head feels good and he's been training fully, so we'll be cautious and take the advice of the experts," Rennie says.

Tim Nanai-Williams is a chance after hurting his ankle against the Blues, which Manu Samoa will be pleased about, as he could be a starter for the June 16 test against the All Blacks. All Blacks Sevens rep Joe Webber is training with the Chiefs as injury cover.

The Chiefs are now in a tight battle with the Hurricanes and Highlanders for second position in the New Zealand conference.