Jafa-hater ups the ante

By CHRIS RATTUE

The Chiefs will require all hands on deck against the Blues at Eden Park tonight.

The great traditions of Auckland-Waikato rivalry may have been raised by the comments of Chiefs lock Keith Robinson, a self-described "Jafa hater".

The former All Black, fresh from his sin-binning against the Reds for punching, invoked the old country-versus-city rhetoric as the Chiefs stirred themselves for action that was missing from their game in the final quarter against the Reds.

The Chiefs will have to play a lot smarter than Robinson did at Ballymore, though, if they are to recreate great battles of the past, and leave Eden Park with any points.

The Blues are starting to hum. The Chiefs are in the gun.

They are under-manned, have had to re-organise their midfield defence following Mark Ranby's injury, and lost one of their best lineout jumpers Jono Gibbes after struggling in that department in Brisbane.

They will also miss Gibbes' leadership in one of the toughest places in world rugby for visiting teams. The odds don't look good.

In contrast, the Blues can jiggle their line-up and not lose a thing. They have brought David Gibson, Angus Macdonald and Joe Rokocoko into surroundings they are totally familiar with - an Auckland dominated set-up that has enjoyed tremendous success over the past two seasons.

The 30-year-old Justin Collins once had All Black prospects, although he might fall between the three loose forward stools. He apparently comes top of the class in subjects like efficiency and work rate in the end of year reports submitted to the national union.

He delivered a perfect one-handed inside pass for Carlos Spencer's remarkable try at the death in last week's win in Christchurch. He's the glue in this Blues pack.

Yet the larger Macdonald, his replacement, is another great worker and a test prospect for sure. That is the sort of depth the Blues can boast.

In the new age of set piece importance, an old campaigner like Michael Collins might have been rated likely to test out new boy John Afoa at scrum time. But the scrum is not Collins' strength and it is the veteran who might be in trouble.

The injection of Gibson and Rokocoko into the backline could be linked. Gibson is a sweet passer, and the Blues could hit Rokocoko early from set pieces, as the All Blacks did at times to utilise his extreme pace. Whatever the tactics, the Blues can replace like with like in terms of quality.

A lack of depth was always the Chiefs' big problem and it has been exposed early in the competition.

When Regan King was ruled out for the season last week, they were left on thin ice in the centres with plenty of treading to go in this campaign. Ranby's replacement Derek Maisey has no credentials in the position at this level, and back-up Grant McQuoid is a novice.

Maisey, who is about as un-Keith Lowen as you get, comes in at second five-eighths, with Lowen moving to his favoured centre position. It gives a completely different look to the Chiefs backline.

It's a forced move which might, using the element of surprise, pay some dividends on attack. Maisey is a clever runner and passer, which could free Lowen to produce the powerful runs which have been missing from the Chiefs' armoury so far. Lowen's power is the best penetrative option right now.

But this late change must have a detrimental effect on the Chiefs' defensive pattern and workrate - where Ranby excels. Strangely, for someone more accustomed to first five-eighths, Maisey doesn't have a great kicking game either.

As for goalkicking, the Chiefs may lose out again by bringing David Hill in for Glen Jackson. Hill will offer more solid resistance should Spencer, or anyone else, run in his direction, but he has fallen behind Jackson as a marksman.

So, it is hard to be anything other than a prophet of doom for the Chiefs on this occasion, as they go into the game as nearly $7 underdogs.

It is difficult to find any area where they could hope to have an advantage, except maybe at halfback where the contrasting figures of the bullish Byron Kelleher and the sleek Gibson will clash.