Chiefs forwards did not dominate in any area

When people talk of the Chiefs, most focus drifts towards their backline, full of All Blacks and star players that were the toast of the competition last year.  But all of that flair counts for little if their forwards don’t do their job.

That was the gist of the message from former All Blacks lock Keith Robinson, who is the side’s lineout guru who works with forwards coach Craig Stevenson.

For the first three weeks, it was the Chiefs pack that laid the platform for their wonderful three from three season start, but they were outplayed last week by a hungry and efficient Reds forward unit that gradually took control of the match.

When casting a critical eye over the Chiefs pack, it is somewhat of a surprise they have worked so well, with their season highlight so far being their dominant performance against a Springbok laden Sharks pack in Durban.

But not only do they have less All Blacks to call on up front that any other side in New Zealand, they have had their fair share of injuries.

Front line locks Kevin O'Neill and Craig Clarke have been missing in action. Props James McGougan and Ben Afeaki have been injured. And blockbusting power-house number eight and interim captain Sione Lauaki has missed three of the four matches via suspension and injury.

Hika Elliot is now out as well, with a torn hamstring.

But Robinson, an old school hard man in the mould of some of the great Waikato forwards, believes that the Chiefs pack will benefit after being given some tutelage by the Reds big men.

"I think our forward pack learnt a lesson, to tell you the truth," Robinson said to the Waikato times.

"You've got to do your homework every week and prepare every week the same every week."

"It's a good lesson for us to learn, especially this early in the comp, and I don't think it will happen again."

Robinson wasn’t so quick to let his forwards off the hook, but stated that he couldn’t really think of a single area where his pack had done the job.

"The scrum wasn't ideal, our lineout wasn't ideal, our breakdown was far from ideal, our hub defence – we were making our tackles but we weren't dominating the tackle,” Robinson said.

"We didn't dominate any area of the game, which has been our strength of the first three weeks.

"There are heaps of excuses we could use for that I suppose but I think it came down to individual preparation."

This week they will come against a top class Crusaders pack that will likely provide a far more potent challenge than the resurgent Reds. Potentially the Crusaders could name six All Blacks up front, including front line test veterans Richie McCaw and Brad Thorn.

Injuries and travel haven’t helped, but Robinson said they had the backup to do the job.

"We've had a bit of disruption all right, but the guys who have come in have been in the wider training group last year or have been hanging around the Chiefs for a while and have been ready to step in at the drop of a hat anyway."

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