Super Rugby as it happened: Chiefs v Sharks at Waikato Stadium

Brad Weber. Photo / Photosport

All the action as the Chiefs took on the Sharks in their Super Rugby clash at Waikato Stadium.

No one wants to go to a rugby game and watch teams try over and over to pack down a scrum. But with more and more teams looking to move the ball through their hands, scrums from handling errors come as part of the deal.

When they get them right, teams can dominate their opponents at the set piece, but getting them right is half the puzzle.

"The biggest thing is team's getting their set up right, so making sure they're balanced," Chiefs assistant coach Nick White said.

"If they're not balanced, they end up with issues whether the scrums are going down or there are poor hits. That's the biggest thing; if teams can focus on their set ups, it gives them a great chance to set a good platform.

"We don't want to have resets, and I know the people who pay their money to come and watch certainly don't either."

The Chiefs' set piece is expected to come under heavy pressure when the side hosts the Sharks in Hamilton on Saturday night. The Sharks scrum came under fire from All Blacks captain and Crusaders loose forward Kieran Read last weekend and the sides drew 21-all in Christchurch.

The Crusaders conceded three scrum penalties to the Sharks in the match, and Read was frustrated at the tactics of the South African side, saying: "When you've got a team which is potentially trying tricks and isn't doing the same thing every scrum, you're going to scrums which go down and don't complete."

White also noted the Sharks' scrummaging technique, and said South African sides all approached the set piece differently.

"We have to make sure we're good and tidy, that's what we've been focusing on," White said. "We just have to make sure we take care of everything at our end and scrum well together as a pack. They pose different challenges and if we're not switched on we might be in the same boat (as the Crusaders)."

The Chiefs will roll out a new look pack due to injuries to key forwards such as Brodie Retallick, Sam Cane and Lachlan Boshier. Mitchell Karpik, Jesse Parete and Luke Jacobson make up the loose forwards trio, while Tyler Ardron shifts to lock alongside Mitchell Brown.

"(The Sharks) are pretty brutal. They're a big, physical ball-carrying pack. They're pretty direct and they get good go forward. Once they get that they let it go to their backs so it's going to be a big challenge for us not only in the loose forwards but the whole pack.

"They'll be coming in off a high last week. Even though they got a draw they played very well and they'll see this as another opportunity to finish their tour on a high."

Chiefs: Solomon Alaimalo, Sean Wainui, Tumua Manu, Anton Lienert-Brown, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Marty McKenzie, Brad Weber, Luke Jacobson, Mitchell Karpik, Jesse Parete, Mitchell Brown, Tyler Ardron, Nepo Laulala, Nathan Harris, Atu Moli. Reserves: Liam Polwart, Ryan Coxon, Angus Ta'avao, Taleni Seu, Pita Gus Sowakula, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Shaun Stevenson, Alex Nankivell.