Rugby: Eden Park no Bluesprint for Chiefs strategy

Tim Nanai-Williams will start at fullback for the Chiefs against the Bulls. Photo / Getty Images

The Chiefs have rejected talk of a blues-print to beat the Bulls ahead of their crucial clash in Hamilton tomorrow.

While impressed with the performance of the Blues last week as they handed the Bulls their first loss of the season, Chiefs coach Ian Foster said a facsimile of those tactics would not necessarily work again.

"Let's face it, it was a very good Blues performance," Foster said.

"They've got some strengths in their team and they played well to those strengths. We're a little bit of a different make-up. Our pack is in a different phase to where the Blues are at so we're going to have to come up with some slightly different ways."

You could read that as Foster conceding his tight five might be a bit green to impose their will on the Bulls' pack the way the Blues did.

"We've learned a few lessons from looking at that game, but clearly we're still a little bit off the mark from where we want to be and it's just making sure we refine our game a little bit more," Foster said.

"We still turned the ball over a little too much last week in attack [against the Highlanders] for my liking. We still weren't efficient enough after line breaks. We made a bucket of them and didn't finish them off. They're controllable areas we've been working hard on this week."

Foster sprang a minor surprise by retaining the Mike Delany-Stephen Donald five-eighths combination.

It wasn't the fact that they didn't deserve another run together, their form against the Highlanders almost dictated they should, but selecting Delany at No 10 means the inexperienced Tim Nanai-Williams starts at fullback.

He is charged with defusing an expected aerial bombardment launched by two of the most accurate punters in world rugby, Morne Steyn and Fourie du Preez.

"He's come in as a young, development-type selection for us this year and he's had a significant amount of game time in the early part of the season," Foster said of 20-year-old Nanai-Williams.

"The boys trust him and he's very much looking forward to it. I know it's a big ask for him, but with Mils [Muliaina] and Siti [Sivivatu] out, it's the job we've picked him for and it's his turn.

"When you look at what we've got available, he's head and shoulders our best option."

With an ever-expanding injury list including Nathan White, Aled de Malmanche, James McGougan, Kevin O'Neill, Muliaina and Sivivatu, Foster truly does have few options, particularly in the front row and the back three.

He does have the services of Sione Lauaki, though, who will make up an all-international loose forward trio with Liam Messam and the returning Tanerau Latimer.

Messam, who takes over the captaincy, was yesterday relishing the prospect of coming up against a big, physical pack. He's also aware that far from being a safe haven for the Chiefs, Waikato Stadium has been their bogey ground this year.

"We like to call this place our little fortress and the last two times we've played here we've come up short so we're looking for a big one tomorrow," Messam said.

There's been no talk, so far, of the last time these two sides met. For those with short memories, the Bulls scraped in by 61-17 in last season's final.

"We just want to get stuck into these guys like the Blues did."

Just in a different sort of way.

CHIEFS
Tim Nanai-Williams
Lelia Masaga
Richard Kahui
Stephen Donald
Dwayne Sweeney
Mike Delany
Brendon Leonard
Sione Lauaki
Tanerau Latimer
Liam Messam (c)
Culum Retallick
Craig Clarke
Ben Afeaki
Hika Elliot
Sona Taumalolo

Reserves: Vern Kamo, Toby Smith, Jarrad Hoeata, Colin Bourke; Junior Poluleuligaga, Callum Bruce, Jackson Willison.

BULLS
Zane Kirchner
G. van den Heever
S. Dippenaar
Wynand Olivier
F. Hougaard
Morne Steyn
Fourie du Preez
Pierre Spies
Dewald Potgieter
Deon Stegmann
Victor Matfield
Danie Roussouw
Werner Kruger
Gary Botha
G. Steenkamp

Reserves: Bandise Maku, Bees Roux, Flip van der Merwe, Pedrie Wannenburg; Heini Adams, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Jaco van der Westhuyzen.

Waikato Stadium, 7.35pm tomorrow