Rugby: Foster hampered by a losing habit

Stephen Donald of the Chiefs is tackled during their 32-13 defeat by the Highlanders at Carisbrook. Photo / Getty Images

How do you scratch an 11-month itch?

That's the question Ian Foster is left to ponder after the Chiefs failed to win for the eighth game in succession on Friday night.

It's an embarrassing run for a squad with one of the most experienced coaches in the business and no fewer than 14 All Blacks (the Highlanders have five).

Bumps and bruises combined with a short turnaround between rounds one and two convinced Foster go down the route of clearing the decks for the match at Carisbrook.

It's too easy to point to the eight changes to the starting lineup as one of the reasons the Chiefs again failed to fire. In reality, the new players were among the best, particularly the halves combination of Tawera Kerr-Barlow and Mike Delany.

For the final half-hour of the first half, they were the most influential players on the park. Whenever Kerr-Barlow darted from the base, he either made significant gains over the advantage line or created space for Delany and his outsides.

His is a talent that needs careful nurturing. While his relative anonymity has its advantages at this stage, with opposition defences still getting used to his style and patterns, inexperience has a nasty flipside. Kerr-Barlow gifted the Highlanders three vital points and made it all too easy for the referee to sinbin him after a professional foul that looked the exact opposite of professionalism.

Delany, too, was a mixed bag. For every darting incision, like the one that earned him a five-pointer, or well-judged kick, there was a sloppy pass or misread. But for all the small errors, the Chiefs had more spark with him at the helm than they displayed in round one.

It is a big call for Foster and the halves are not the only selection posers. It was in the forwards where the game against the Highlanders was eventually lost, particularly in the commitment to the breakdown.

What do they do? Foster changed more than half the team for the Highlanders match. It's not a sustainable selection policy. It feeds uncertainty and inhibits cohesion.

While you could argue that he now has the advantage of having given most of his squad a run, surely that's what the three pre-season trials were there for.

What Foster needs more than anything is a win - any old way, with any old personnel. It's been so long since they drank from the cup of success that the Chiefs have forgotten what it tastes like. Despite dominating the first half at Dunedin you never got the sense that they knew how to close the game out.

To that end, they are fortunate the Rebels are coming to the Tron on Saturday night.

The Melbourne side are a hotchpotch of has-beens, never-beens and might-bes. No self-respecting side with designs on the playoffs should lose to them, especially at home.

Still, even the Rebels might not be the pushovers that were expected after they flubbed their lines in round one against the Waratahs.

They turned around and beat the Brumbies, albeit in the most fortunate of circumstances who, you might recall, were coming off a win in round one - against the Chiefs.

TEAM IN A TAILSPIN

* LAST VICTORY, APRIL 3, 2010

Chiefs 27 Highlanders 21 - Mt Maunganui

Victory yes, but they had Mat Berquist and Tim Boys to thank for this win after they blew a certain try that would have given Israel Dagg a conversion to win it.

* DEFEAT NO 1: APRIL 9, 2010

Bulls 33 Chiefs 19 - Hamilton

The Chiefs hung tough for 65 minutes but it was really not that close. Richard Kahui got the dropsies and Stephen Donald the yips.

* DEFEAT NO 2: APRIL 16, 2010

Stormers 49 Chiefs 15 - Hamilton

The Chiefs were poor and got smoked by a very, very good Stormers side. They were never in this game.

* A DRAW! APRIL 23, 2010

Chiefs 25 Cheetahs 25 - Hamilton

They drew against a team that had been winless in New Zealand since their return to Super rugby in 2006 and missed eight shots at goal in the process. Bad.

* DEFEAT NO 3: MAY 1, 2010

Hurricanes 33 Chiefs 27 - Wellington

The Chiefs started like a train and had a handy halftime lead, but porous defence and poor goalkicking cost them.

* DEFEAT NO 4: MAY 8, 2010

Waratahs 46 Chiefs 19 - Hamilton

The Waratahs absolutely smashed a feeble Chiefs whose only sign of life was prop Nathan White scrapping Al Baxter.

* DEFEAT NO 5: MAY 15, 2010

Blues 30 Chiefs 20 - Auckland

A merciful end to a campaign that started brightly and crumpled as injuries and a lack of confidence hit hard.

* DEFEAT NO 6: FEBRUARY 19, 2011

Brumbies 28 Chiefs 20 - Canberra

The Brumbies were ordinary, the Chiefs were slightly worse, though they did bomb some gilt-edged chances.

* DEFEAT NO 7: FEBRUARY 25, 2011

Highlanders 23 Chiefs 13 - Dunedin

The Highlanders had too much muscle and broke a hoodoo since 2003.