It's not all doom and gloom for luckless Chiefs

By Chris Rattue

Chiefs supporters in need of hope can find inspiration from the past three rounds of Super 12 rugby.

The Chiefs, with their semifinal chances seemingly gone, play four of their last six matches away from home, which should lengthen the odds on their scraping some respectability out of this season.

They take on the Cats at Pukekohe Stadium and Sharks in Hamilton, but must travel to Canberra (where they play the Brumbies on Saturday night), New Plymouth, Cape Town and Pretoria for the rest of their campaign.

The Super 12 is supposed to be a traveller's nightmare, spanning three countries and sometimes involving limited preparation after long flights.

But the past three weeks have produced a strange trend.

Of the 17 matches played in rounds four to six, the home team have failed to win on 10 occasions (there have been two draws). The trend is even growing. There was one away team winner in round four, three in round five, and four in the latest series.

Two of the form sides, the Sharks and Brumbies, were beaten at home in the latest round. Until a fortnight ago, the Waratahs had won seven straight home matches and had not lost at the Sydney Football Stadium for two years.

Their coach, Matt Williams, spoke of how much that stadium meant to his players and gave them a feeling of invincibility. Yet they have lost consecutive matches there, to the Stormers and Blues.

The champion Crusaders were even going for a Super 12 record of consecutive wins when they were beaten at Jade Stadium by the Reds a fortnight ago.

And in maybe the upset of the year so far, the Hurricanes travelled to beat the Sharks, who had torn Super 12 favourites the Highlanders apart the week before in a display some reckoned foreshadowed doom and gloom for the All Blacks in the World Cup.

The Chiefs can take one other major plus into Saturday night's game: how will the Brumbies (and if it ever came to it, the Wallabies) cope without first-five Stephen Larkham, whose knee injury has put him out of the remainder of this year's Super 12.

Luck was not always with the Chiefs on Saturday night in their 16-27 loss to Otago. That situation remained to the end, when referee Paul Macfie robbed them of a bonus point by awarding replacement Highlanders loose forward Isitolo Maka a try when he clearly spilled the ball on the line.

But the Highlanders, who had to travel back from South Africa during the week, were marginally the better side in slippery conditions.

And the Chiefs still seem confused in some selection areas, particularly the backline. Matthew Cooper may give them a more reliable goalkicker than Glen Jackson, but leaving Walter Little on the sideline takes away a class player from a struggling side.

Little had no sooner made his entrance in the second half than he sparked a broken play attack, although he made a few errors. It is one of many problems for coach Ross Cooper, who must now rally a team who have seen all their early season hope evaporate.