KEY POINTS:
Another game, another backline reshuffle for the Chiefs.
Gone are fullback Sitiveni Sivivatu, wing Soseni Anesi and second five-eighths Richard Kahui - all victims of ankle sprains suffered in a bizarre 10-minute period during last week's defeat by the Stormers.
Back to face the Bulls in Rotorua come Viliame Waqaseduadua, Dwayne Sweeney and Callum Bruce - all players who have been dropped already this season for their defensive shortcomings.
Stand-in captain Mils Muliaina continues his sequence of playing centre one week, fullback the next. Tonight, it's fullback, with Bruce and Sweeney forming an all-new midfield combination and Waqaseduadua and Lelia Masaga filling the wings.
It amounts to the most lightweight defensive backline coach Ian Foster can field. It's also near enough the only one he can send out, short of promoting Roimata Hansell-Pune or Jackson Willison straight from the wider training squad to the starting line-up.
The backline reshuffles have been more or less forced on Foster - more by injury, not much less by poor form.
Foster is a coach under pressure. That the Chiefs' struggles are being measured against Warren Gatland's Six Nations Grand Slam with Wales isn't exactly fair, but it is a reality.
"We are taking a bit of flack at the moment and a lot of it is justified," Foster said.
"But we have still shown we can win games this season."
A win tonight would level the Chiefs' season record at 3-3. A loss would pretty much end their hopes in the tournament.
Their opponents, the defending-champion Bulls, are in a similar position. They haven't exactly been in startling form, notching losses to the Crusaders, Sharks and Reds. They were, however, good enough to beat the Stormers on their home patch in Cape Town.
They have also named a strong team, despite the withdrawal of arch-poacher Bryan Habana.
If the Chiefs are to get the better of the likes of Morne Steyn, JP Nel, Fourie du Preez, Wickus van Heerden and Bakkies Botha, they'll need to start better.
Foster said individual errors had been killing his team this season, particularly during the opening exchanges.
"We are working really hard on the park and I don't think there is any lack of commitment. It is a lack of accuracy with catching and passing, basic errors. Often that is a sign of over-eagerness, trying a bit too hard. Perhaps we've got some players who are a bit guilty of that.
"We have shown we can play. We have just got to make sure we are a bit more accountable in that skill area.
"It is a matter of building confidence. We have got good rugby players here."
Foster's team must also improve at the breakdown, an area where they were smashed to pieces by the Stormers. The coach has brought back first-choice loosies Liam Messam, Sione Lauaki and Tanerau Latimer to help stem the flow of turnovers against his team, but the forward challenge presented by the Bulls is significant.
"They have got a big pack, a strong set piece pack and at the collision area they are going to have a real go at us," Foster said.
"We are going to have to be strong at set piece time and make sure that our breakdown work is of a high quality. We know if we can do those things we have the tempo and the skill to play a game we want."
CHIEFS
Mils Muliaina (c)
Lelia Masaga
Dwayne Sweeney
Callum Bruce
V. Waqaseduadua
Stephen Donald
Brendon Leonard
Sione Lauaki
Tanerau Latimer
Liam Messam
Kevin O'Neill
Toby Lynn
Ben Castle
Tom Willis
Simms Davison
BULLS
Morne Steyn
Akona Ndungane
JP Nel
Wynand Olivier
Danwel Demas
Derick Hougaard
F.du Preez (c)
P. Wannenburg
W. van Heerden
Deon Stegmann
Danie Rossouw
Bakkies Botha
Rayno Gerber
Derick Kuun
G. Steenkamp
Chiefs: Aled de Malmanche, Ben May, Jay Williams, Faifili Levave, David Bason, Murray Williams, Roimata Hansell-Pune.
Bulls: Bandise Maku, Werner Kruger, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Hilton Lobberts, Dewald Potgieter, Heini Adams, Stephan Dippenaar.
Rotorua, today 7.35pm
