Play nzherald.co.nz's rugby Pick the Score competition - go to:
pickthescore.nzherald.co.nz
KEY POINTS:
Sure, it was a mess. But it wasn't a one-sided mess, last Saturday's scrum battle between the Chiefs and Crusaders. And that will have given the Chiefs plenty of heart heading into tonight's clash with the Waratahs in Sydney.
The front row of Ben May, Sona Taumalolo and
Hikawira Elliot might have failed to provide the required stability on their own ball for the team to fully capitalise on its electric back division, which might have cost them an opening-round victory in Christchurch. But the Chiefs were at least able to return the favour and wrecked a few of the Crusaders' best-laid plans.
The Crusaders probably shaded the scrum battle, but it wasn't the massacre it might have been considering the champions went into the match with a front row boasting 149 Super Rugby caps to the rookie Chiefs' unit's 26.
"They are a bloody good pack," said Ben May, the Chiefs' senior prop thanks to the all-of 15 caps to his name.
They might have frequently been on the wrong end of referee Chris Pollock's whistle but the biggest reason the Chiefs trio failed to fully match wily veterans Wyatt Crocket, Corey Flynn and Ben Franks was an overdose of honesty, May said.
"I played down there a couple of years ago and they are still doing the same old tricks. They are a well-organised unit, that tight five down there, and they have a few tricks up their sleeves. I guess we were maybe a little bit honest at times. We didn't have a lot to counter their antics."
It doesn't take more than a cursory glance at the biographies of the Chiefs' front rowers to see why coach Ian Foster has highlighted it as his primary area of concern.
May is the side's senior prop. His starting partner Taumalolo made his debut against the Crusaders, as did bench replacement James McGougan. Joe Savage, the other specialist prop in the squad, is yet to play at all, while most of hooker Elliot's 13 Super 14 appearances have been cameos off the bench.
The only front rower in the squad with any sort of sustained experience behind him is utility reserve Aled de Malmanche, with 21 appearances leading into his third season with the franchise.
Compare that with the front row the Chiefs will be up against tonight.
The names Benn Robinson, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Al Baxter wouldn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of small children, but the Tahs front three have combined for 165 Super Rugby and 91 test caps.
Each one of them has played more top level rugby on their own than the entire Chiefs' front row, reserves included.
The Chiefs might not have given themselves a pass mark for their ultimately unsuccessful efforts against the Crusaders but the hit-out should hold them in good stead for the matches ahead, May said.
"It was bloody physical actually. It was tough up front, a lot of scrums and a lot of ruck cleaning. It's fair to say the boys were feeling it for a couple of days.
"Obviously they are the best in the business and they have a very good scrum. We backed ourselves and our set piece to match them and I think both teams came out of that game with some work-ons.
"Now we are pretty excited about moving on to this game with some game-time under our belts.
"We are going in with a positive attitude. The boys haven't got their heads down and we are just focusing on our key work-ons and building on our game."
Nelson-born and raised, May impressed in his debut season with the Chiefs last year after being plucked out of the draft. With Tasman unable to offer him a contract because of the uncertainty over their future, May signed a three-year deal with Waikato.
The 26-year-old should be the rock around which both Waikato and the Chiefs build their packs.
That said, the Chiefs' tight five is still very much a work in progress. If it can hold its own, the Chiefs might win enough games to press for a semifinal spot. If it can't, it will be a long season.
Tonight certainly promises to be another stern examination.
