Chiefs 2018

[Stargazer]

@bovidae Is it? Ah, I didn't read that media release properly. The use of the word 'tour' made me think it was more than one game.

[Bovidae]

The tour includes the UoW Chiefs Taua Development team having training sessions with the Hong Kong national squad and playing a match against a Hong Kong national XV on Saturday 21 April at the Hong Kong Football Club, before returning on Monday 23 April. The UoW Chiefs Taua Development players will also participate in community engagement coaching events during their stay, together with the HKRU for young players from their Youth and Mini Rugby programmes.

[Bovidae]

The Chiefs Dev team won 49-27 (HT: 35-15) against Hong Kong.

Full story here
https://www.hkrugby.com/news/hong-kong-take-positives-from-chiefs-development-loss

[Stargazer]

Injuries after last Saturday's game:

All Blacks utility McKenzie copped friendly fire to the head from the knee of Angus Ta'avao and was forced from the field in the 20th minute, and because he was dazed he automatically failed the HIA assessment.

Cooper said his star playmaker labelled himself fine on Sunday, but that he would have to go through the concussion protocols.

Wainui left the park at the hour-mark with a shoulder problem, though there is a ready-made replacement on hand if need be, with Toni Pulu scheduled back from his own shoulder injury.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/103300018/chiefs-head-into-second-bye-in-decent-shape-at-halfway-point-of-super-rugby

[Bovidae]

Better late than never. Here are the Chiefs' Development teams that played the Blues in Hamilton and Hurricanes in Napier.

[Crucial]

Due to popular demand (from the Blues thread, where I did this but made no judgement) here is a pre-season first choice guess v the team selected for the last game.

@tim said in Chiefs 2018:

What's your first choice XXIII going to be? I'm hesitant to assume that Ngatai will be available for > 50% of games.

1. Hames
2. Harris (OK, only rested)
3. Laulala
4. Retallick
5. Bird/Allardice/Brown
6. Seu/Brown
7. Cane
8. Brown/Messam
9. TTT/Weber
10. McKenzie
11. Alaimalo
12. Fa'auli
13. Lienert-Brown
14. Pulu
15. Stevenson( although Ngatai could have been picked here)

16. Polwart
17. is Mitchell Graham signed up?
18. Moli
19. Bird/Allardice/Brown
20. Boshier /Karpick/Brown/Messam/Seu
21. Weber/TTT
22. Tiaan Falcon
23. TNW

I think someone mentioned in the Blues thread that a key difference in the injury impact is that the core leadership in the team is still intact. Cane, BBBR, Messam, Ngatai(sometimes) and when you look at that list there is still a spine at 2,4,8,9,10 and centres to keep some shape.

[Duluth]

Another key difference is the quality of coaching. In the first Chiefs/Blues match the the Chiefs were decimated.
If you didn’t know the history, you would have assumed the Blues were the ones with an injury crisis and had a new coach. The team was so disorganised and no one knew their roles. But that was a team prepared by a coach in his third season with the side.

The gulf in quality between Cooper and Umaga is enormous.

[Bones]

@duluth Actually that just made me think...wouldn't Umaga have been coached by both Rennie and Cooper?

[ploughboy]

yeah kind of agree in that we are lucky who and where our injurys have been (if you forget the six props given how well the replacements have gone) but we really lack quality in the backs. against the reds after dmac went off mmac.faauli ,wainui and in this game alaimalo were poor. stevenson is playing club rugby this week so that will help but dont know who to fix 12 with maybe lienert brown and aumua to 13(i noticed he was in brisbane ), we seem to lack pace against most teams

any way my backline
9 ttt
10 dmac
11 alaimalo
12 alb/ngatai
13 alb /aumua
14 pulu
15 ngatai/stevenson

at the least this group on the field aumua on the wing? when is falcon back.

[Crucial]

@duluth said in Chiefs 2018:

Another key difference is the quality of coaching. In the first Chiefs/Blues match the the Chiefs were decimated.
If you didn’t know the history, you would have assumed the Blues were the ones with an injury crisis and had a new coach. The team was so disorganised and no one knew their roles. But that was a team prepared by a coach in his third season with the side.

The gulf in quality between Cooper and Umaga is enormous.

I seem to remember the comments after that game were along the lines of 'Chiefs were shit, Blues were shitter'

[Crucial]

@ploughboy said in Chiefs 2018:

yeah kind of agree in that we are lucky who and where our injurys have been (if you forget the six props given how well the replacements have gone) but we really lack quality in the backs. against the reds after dmac went off mmac.faauli ,wainui and in this game alaimalo were poor. stevenson is playing club rugby this week so that will help but dont know who to fix 12 with maybe lienert brown and aumua to 13(i noticed he was in brisbane ), we seem to lack pace against most teams

any way my backline
9 ttt
10 dmac
11 alaimalo
12 alb/ngatai
13 alb /aumua
14 pulu
15 ngatai/stevenson

at the least this group on the field aumua on the wing? when is falcon back.

Why can't we just go 12 Ngatai and 13 ALB? It is a proven working combo.
I guess that as Fa'auli has remained available and isn't versatile they have been selecting around him.

[Bovidae]

@crucial said in Chiefs 2018:

Why can't we just go 12 Ngatai and 13 ALB? It is a proven working combo.

Yeah. I think the decision to play Ngatai at fullback has also been about preservation.

I guess that as Fa'auli has remained available and isn't versatile they have been selecting around him.

ALB needs to have his 1-game rest at some stage so I'd like to see Ngatai in the midfield for that game (possibly the Jaguares game next Friday). A Fa'auli-Wainui midfield would make me nervous. Nankivell will probably come into the centres, Aumua onto the bench.

[ARHS]

@bovidae

Thanks heaps

[Bovidae]

Seu and McNicol are gone for the SR season. The latter might have to think about retiring.

Tiaan Falcon will be out of action for three to four weeks with his hand injury.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/103482630/another-seasonending-injury-for-chiefs-ahead-of-facing-inform-jaguares

[Bovidae]

A 29-man travelling squad has touched down in South Africa ahead of the two-game South African tour against the Stormers and Sharks. New face Matt Matich joins the squad for injury replacement after training with the team throughout pre-season. The flanker plays for Northland in the Mitre 10 Cup. Sam Cane is rested for the South African tour having sustained an abdominal strain. Jesse Parete also earns a spot on tour after an impressive debut off the bench against the Jaguares where he scored the team’s only try with a powerful run through a determined Jaguares defence.

The group in South Africa are:

FORWARDS:

Karl Tu’inukuafe
Sam Prattley
Angus Ta’avao-Matau
Jeffrey Thwaites
Sosefo Kautai
Nathan Harris
Liam Polwart
Samisoni Taukei’aho
Brodie Retallick
Tyler Ardron
Michael Allardice
Luke Jacobson
Pita Gus Sowakula
Liam Messam
Jesse Parete
Matt Matich

BACKS:

Brad Weber
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi
Jonathan Taumateine
Damian McKenzie
Marty McKenzie
Solomon Alaimalo
Johnny Faauli
Anton Lienert-Brown
Charlie Ngatai
Sean Wainui
Alex Nankivell
Shaun Stevenson
Toni Pulu

[taniwharugby]

@bovidae Matich has played a few games for Blues dev side too...

Very hard working loosie, plays 8 for us, but is a bit small for that at Super level IMO.

As mentioned over on the super rugby thread, he has the attributes to play 7 as well, but IMO he is more a 6.5, hope he gets a shot!

[Bovidae]

@taniwharugby

I thought they would pick a specialist 7 and Mitch Jacobson would be the obvious choice.

Parete might be the player they start against the Stormers.

[taniwharugby]

@bovidae interesting comment there saying he had been training with the Chiefs too (and playing for Blues dev) but I know Dale MacLeod worked hard behind the scenes to get the Chiefs to have a look at him after another good M10 cup last year.

Yeah while he has the skillset to be a specialist 7, he isn't.

[Bovidae]

UPDATE: It's great to have Mitch Jacobson and Luteru Laulala join us this week in Durban - welcome guys! The touring team have farewelled Brodie, Anton, Damian and Nathan who have flown home to join the All Blacks camp this weekend.

So TTT is able to play this weekend.

[ARHS]

@bovidae

Good to see them both there. Who is the 11th replacement player in the 'Stuff article' though? Of initial 38, only 16 remain. 16 stayed home injured, 4 AB's returning, Aumua left at home as so many midfielders available. That leaves one...?

I was expecting a lock replacement perhaps - like Tucker. Or have the Blues come calling??