Rugby: Chiefs under pressure to sharpen up

Richard Kahui. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Richard Kahui has put his hand up as one of the senior players who need to lift their game against the Stormers tomorrow.

To that list you can add Mike Delany and Stephen Donald, whose No 10-12 combination last week against the Bulls was rated a fail by Chief examiner Ian Foster.

"There's a few individuals that probably aren't playing up to their potential, me being one," Kahui said.

"With that you put a little bit more pressure on yourself when, in reality, with the ball we're getting, and we are getting some really good ball, we've just got to relax and be a little more patient."

Kahui was the chief culprit in the handling error department against the Bulls last week, but it is the work inside him that is stifling the attack.

When asked to assess how the Delany-Donald five-eighths partnership was working after two matches, Foster was equivocal.

"I gave it a pass mark against the Highlanders and I graded it a C-minus against the Bulls in terms of the organisational side of it.

"We're putting a bit of pressure on the roles ahead of this game. We need it to go better, but there's two good people there and they're working hard on getting that combination working ... [there's] a few teething problems though."

The "teething problems" have come at phase play, with ball-running forwards Sione Lauaki and Liam Messam being asked to make too much of the play.

"We're just a little bit off in terms of getting the flow of our attack going. It's a little bit frustrating, we're leaving Wax [Lauaki] and Liam a bit isolated."

Given that the Chiefs have reached a point in their season where they realistically have to win the rest of their games to make the semifinals (though Foster said there were some scenarios that would mean they could drop one game), it is reasonable to question why they would persist with an unproven combination in pivotal positions - the subtext being that the All Black puppeteers are pulling the strings.

"Certainly it's been discussed by the All Blacks. It's [also] been discussed by me and the players in the pre-season, so I think we were all aware it was something that was going to be looked at at some stage," Foster said.

Foster at least has the luxury of stability when naming a side this week, even if it is not the line-up he would have envisaged at the start of the season. Young prop Toby Smith gets a start, replacing the injured Sona Taumalolo and Nathan White returns from a back strain. It means an inexperienced front row against the fiercely combative Stormers pack, but Foster is not worried.

"We've got big wraps on Toby and have been impressed by Ben's growth over the past two weeks. It's a big challenge, but they're two quality young men."

Foster could not help but be impressed by the performance of the Stormers against the Blues, saying they lifted their attacking game a cog.

While expecting a similar physical encounter to that against the Bulls, the threats will also come from wider out, with Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana and Gio Aplon in good form.


Chiefs
Tim Nanai-Williams, Lelia Masaga, Richard Kahui, Stephen Donald, Dwayne Sweeney, Mike Delany, Brendon Leonard, Sione Lauaki, Tanerau Latimer, Liam Messam (captain), Culum Retallick, Craig Clarke, Ben Afeaki, Hika Elliot, Toby Smith.

Reserves: Vern Kamo, Nathan White, Romana Graham, Colin Bourke, Junior Poluleuligaga, Callum bruce, Jackson Willison.

Stormers
Gio Aplon, Sireli Naqelevuki, Jaque Fourie, Juan de Jongh, Bryan Habana, Peter Grant, Dewaldt Duvenage, Duane Vermeulen, Francois Louw, Schalk Burger (captain), Andries Bekker, Adriaan Fondse, Brok Harris, Tiaan Liebenberg, JD Moller.

Reserves: Deon Fourie, JC Kritzinger, Anton van Zyl, Pieter Louw, Bolla Conradie, Willem de Waal, Tim Whitehead.