Cape Town - Many pundits were keen to know how the Chiefs would play in the expected wet conditions for their quarter-final match against the Stormers at Newlands.
As it turned out, it wasn’t that wet on Saturday night, although some of the home supporters’ cheeks were damp after they realised they weren’t going to get their money back for their rather pricey tickets after the Stormers’ capitulation in the first 30 minutes of the clash.
The Chiefs produced a scintillating display of power, poise and precision to beat a hapless home side. So, would the Chiefs have played any other way on Saturday night if it had been pouring with rain? I doubt it. Would the result have been the same? Probably, yes.
On Saturday morning we had seen the Hurricanes produce a great performance in absolutely atrocious conditions against the Sharks, who were blown away 41-0 by the strong Wellington breeze, and by the home side’s skill and pace.
Some people actually said after the match the Sharks were lucky to get zero.
The Hurricanes and the Chiefs don’t change their plans for the elements or for a pressure match like a knockout fixture. They back their ability as rugby-players.
They back their coaching and they back their positive mentality.
In South Africa we have heard that Rassie Erasmus once told his Stormers side before a rain-drenched match against the Waratahs: “Don’t play any rugby”, which means – for people are confused by this expression - to kick everything down-field, tackle and wait for the opposition to make a mistake.
The Stormers lost that match, badly.Erasmus didn’t back his side to have enough skill to beat the Australian side by keeping the ball. Which essentially means he didn’t back himself as a coach to come up with a better plan than just tackling the opposition back. That is unheard of in New Zealand.
There have been numerous other examples of this in the past and sometimes it has worked. But if you tally up the number of Tri-Nations, Rugby Championship and Super Rugby titles won per nation, then this “plan” hasn’t quite produced the silverware, has it?
Interestingly enough, the only South African team in the semi-finals in this year’s competition, the Lions, are the ones who have successfully mimicked the New Zealanders’ style of play.
But according to Chiefs coach Dave Rennie it’s not actually rocket science to play the brand of rugby that they dished up on Saturday night.
And if you go and look at the match closely, it was just about doing the basics of the game properly, getting quick ball with ferocious rucking, running straight and passing.
And repeating.But you must believe in this way of playing the game. It’s not about half-measures, where the halfway line determines if you are going to kick or run.
When it’s on, Rennie and the Chiefs, and the rest of the New Zealand teams, will have a crack. From anywhere.
“It’s just a mindset, you have got to want to play positive footy. With our boys, they love it, and they are prepared to have a crack from a hundred (metres). Play what’s in front of them,” the Chiefs coach said.
“We have a pretty good balance to our game. We still kick a bit, but most of them are attacking kicks to try and get the ball back.
“We do a hell of a lot of work on our decision-making, our skill-set, which allow us to play that way. All New Zealand teams are pretty similar in that attitude. We all play slightly different, but mindset-wise, we are all pretty positive.”
The Stormers have taken that leap of faith this year, with mixed results. But they have to stick to their guns and follow through, because it also took the Lions some time to master playing with that sort of skill at a high pace.
There have been many local coaches who have talked up an all-encompassing game plan, only to ditch it at the first sign of trouble. Maybe this little piece of advice from Rennie will help them to keep going.
“It’s got to be driven and it’s got to be encouraged. If you start to abuse your players for making a mistake when it’s on to attack, they will stop attacking.”
Cape Argus