0
Form in 2011
The last two years haven’t seen the kind of success that Chiefs fan would have been hoping for since contesting (if you can call it that) the final in 2009. 2010 saw the Chiefs finish in 11th place and in 2011 one spot higher in 10th. The Chiefs reverted to their old form of erratic win one week and lose the next in 2010 and 2011. The Waikato franchise was only able to post back to back wins once in the 2011 tournament, and they could not even boast promising signs of consistency late in the season.
But there are a couple of reasons for hope for the Chief’s faithful in 2012 and one of those is the performance of their ITM Cup teams. Although they could not claim the final title, Waikato topped the Premiership after the round robin stage of the tournament. Bay of Plenty, one of their feeder teams, also finished in a reputable 4th place. Having two teams perform well in the domestic competition will undoubtedly have a flow on effect for the Chiefs. The third feeder team, Counties-Manukau, came 4th in the Championship.
Comings and Goings
A second reason the Chiefs might be upwardly mobile in 2012 lies in their recruitment for the coming season. Despite losing a whole host of former stars and quite a few grunts, the Chiefs have made probably added a net value to their team in their recruitment. Like the Hurricanes, so many changes have been made that it does not quite look like a Chiefs team of old. No Mils Muliaina (Retirement/Japan). No Sitiveni Sivivatu (Clermont). Stephen ‘the Duck’ Donald has gone to Bath. I’m sure there is a good joke there but I can’t be assed thinking of it. No Aled de Malmanche (Stade). It will be interesting to see how this affects the Chiefs as Donald and Sivivatu are two of the most inconsistent players in New Zealand rugby. A few other grunts have moved on: Colin Bourke, Tana Umaga (finally retired), Toby Lynn (Force), Dwayne Sweeney, Hayden Triggs, Mike Delany, Isaac Ross (all Japan), Taniela Moa (France D2), Nathan White (Leinster), Ben May (Hurricanes) and Culum Retallick (Highlanders). That’s quite a list. Send that out on the field and they would probably beat the Brumbies, Rebels and Lions.
Mils Muliaina: Dedicated servant of the Chiefs.
The Chiefs have gone Samoan style with their replacements in the forwards. In for de Malmanche is Samoan captain, Mahonri Schwalger, who will make the perfect foil for the highly talented Hika Elliott. Schwalger has been around the traps and brings some much needed experience and leadership to the Chiefs. He also adds starch to a forward pack that is notorious for lacking it. Samoan second rower Kane Thompson has also linked up with the Chiefs in 2012. Thompson has been part of two Samoan RWC teams and scored a try in Samoa’s upset win over the Wallabies in 2011. Amongst the backs it is Sonny Bill Williams who has picked up most of the attention as he has a habit of doing so. SBW has continued his form of being non-committal by signing with the Chiefs for just a single year. He stands to form a very exciting midfield combination with Richard Kahui. Two of New Zealand’s class of ’09 JWC championship winning team have also linked up with their former coach at the Chiefs. Aaron Cruden will take over the reins of the Chiefs backline from Stephen Donald while Robbie Robinson will have Mils Muliaina’s giant boots to fill.
Perhaps it doesn’t actually look like that much of an improvement. A lot of experience has gone. Yet for the biggest improvement the real place to look is at the coaching panel. Ian Foster, who ran the Chiefs for an incredibly long 8 years, has now gone and has been replaced by Dave Rennie and Wayne Smith. Rennie coached the highly successful New Zealand under 20 side for a number of years. Although there is some speculation Smith may not see out his contract due to overseas offers, Smith is about as qualified an assistant coach as you can get. Smith has won two titles with the Crusaders in the late 90s as well as having roles as head coach and assistant coach of the All Blacks. He was assistant coach to the 2011 RWC winning All Blacks team. This puts him in a very select group with Graham Henry and Eddie Jones as coaches who have been part of winning Super Rugby and winning World Cup sides. Expect the combination of Rennie and Smith to tighten up the Chiefs and make them a more dangerous opposition.
Players to watch out for
Four years ago we were amazed by the explosive Chiefs halfback, Brendon Leonard. Leonard was sensational in his debut season with his incredible acceleration seeing the young 9 score plenty of tries and join the All Blacks fold in 2007. Leonard’s form has sunk since then and yipping at his heels is the promising Tawera Kerr-Barlow. Kerr-Barlow will be 22 in 2012 and is ready for his breakout season. As Leonard could have ended up playing for Australia (Mitchell tried to recruit Leonard to the Force and was almost successful- Leonard listed Mitchell as a player he would most like to play alongside), so too could Kerr-Barlow. He was born in Australia and his mother played for the Wallaroos, however he seems intent on representing the All Blacks. With few good alternatives for Will Genia, we will have to live in hope as we watch him dazzle in the few opportunities he gets in 2012.
There are always a few players for other teams that you have a lot of respect for. Shane Williams for Wales, especially after the weekend, is one of those guys who is hard to hate- even when the Wallabies are playing Wales. For Samoa and now the Chiefs that player is Mo’ Schwalger. He might not set the competition alight. In fact most people probably won’t notice the hard work that he does and the impact that he has on the team. But Schwalger has character. He will bring leadership, experience and a steady hand to team that is on the young side and in a bit of a rebuilding phase. Expect him to take the field as an impact player to steer the team to victory in the final few minutes and watch out for the punishing Samoan defence when he does take the field.
The Strengths
As with previous years, the Chiefs will have a blazing backline in 2012. Perhaps this year, however, we will see it used to better effect. Expect a starting backline of Leonard, Cruden, Masaga, Williams, Kahui, Nanai-Williams, Robinson. Threats from 9 to 15. A hallmark of play next season will be passing out of contact. It is a favourite of Cruden and the likely centre pairing of Williams and Kahui. This will fit in well with the Chiefs more mobile forward pack and will be difficult to contain as the last thing you want is a guy like Masaga running onto the ball and into space. There is a lot of young talent amongst the Chiefs’ backs and they may not click straight away but Rennie looks to be cherry picking his former U20 disciples and making something of a dynasty in Hamilton.
The Chiefs backrow is a pain in the ass and the man most responsible for that is Liam Messam. Messam is a bit of an everywhere man of the Chiefs backrow in two ways. He is more than capable of playing any of 6, 7 or 8 but also his high work rate sees him crop up everywhere on the field- either as a support player or to stymie an attacking raid by the opposition. He is the Chiefs’ version of Matt Hodgson except 10kgs heavier. He will form a very solid back row along with the likes of Taneru Latimer, Scott Waldrom, Fritz Lee and NZ U20 star Sam Cane.
The Weaknesses
There isn’t a whole lot of stability in Chiefland. Like the Hurricanes, half the squad has moved on and been replaced. Unlike the Hurricanes, the Chiefs also have a new coaching structure to deal with. The Chiefs have a bit of a history of starting the season badly and this won’t help. On the plus side, however, their first couple of games are in NZ which is certainly better than starting out with a new team and a new coach in RSA. A few early wins will be good for building momentum and consistency.
The perennial question mark over the Chiefs will be how their tight five will perform and it has probably been the one thing that held the Chiefs just outside the top four for most of Ian Foster’s reign as coach. Not since Jono Gibbes have the Chiefs had a talisman of a second rower who inspires the team and strikes fear into the hearts of the opposition. Keith Robinson’s star shone brightly between injuries around 2006/2007 but the grizzled lock’s body just gave out on him from then on. The Waikato franchise has not produced many menacing props either with the team changing its front row stocks very frequently. Of the current crop only Sona Taumalolo has been at the club for more than two years and the combined number of Super Rugby caps of their five props is only around 70. In contrast, the Melbourne Rebels’ four props double this number. As previously mentioned, Rennie has brought in a couple of Samoans, who are notorious for their physicality. He also has his finger on the pulse where it comes to young talent going around in New Zealand through his age grade experience. But it will take him time to get the team he wants together and in the mean time the Chiefs tight five will be a weakness.
Lemon sandwich?
The Prediction
This is a tough one to pick given the wholesale changes in Hamilton. Even more so as the Chiefs have a history of erratic performances. They definitely should have the wood on the Hurricanes and the Highlanders and will likely thrash it out with the Blues for second place in the NZ conference and a likely finals appearance. It might be a bit of a slow start for the Chiefs, and they will probably have mixed success on their road trip, but they will probably be a well-oiled machine by the end of the season. I think they are another season of being serious finals contenders, however. I’d peg the Chiefs in 7th.
Reply With Quote
