Chiefs searching for swift reaction

Ian Foster reckons he won't need to do any sergeant-major routine this week - his Chiefs players will be their own toughest markers after the depressing first-up performance against the Waratahs in Sydney.

The 25-7 loss was at the hands of a team who played ordinary rugby for much of the match, but were inspired by Wallaby fullback Mat Rogers. He scored one try, had a major hand in three others and was the decisive figure in a result which extended the Chiefs' Sydney record to one win, four losses.

"We weren't efficient enough when we did have opportunities," coach Foster said yesterday. "We were frustrated at our skill level and we let ourselves down in a number of areas. The harder we tried the more basic errors we made."

One round into an 11-game campaign is not the time to be tearing the dressing-room walls down at Waikato Stadium this week. In any case, Foster doesn't expect he'll need to wave the big stick at his players.

"I've got to be honest, I don't think they'll need a heap of that talk from me," he said. "They've got high expectations, we all have, and the most disappointed people will be players.

"We've got to make sure we make some pretty quick fixes."

This Saturday, it won't get any easier as the Chiefs head to Christchurch where their Super 12 record against the Crusaders is grim: four visits, four losses.

Foster expects he'll have the same squad of players to choose from. There were no fresh injuries out of the Waratahs game.

On an encouraging note, captain Jono Gibbes lasted the full 80 minutes on a hot, humid night, his first competitive rugby since October, apart from 25 minutes in a trial match.

The real benefit should come from his having a tough night out and getting some competitive mileage under his belt.

As for Rogers, his display came on the back of a hip injury picked up at training on Wednesday. It didn't show.

"I knew I was fit and ready to go. There was a little hiccup on Wednesday but we got over that and the ball's rolling again," he said.

Last year, Rogers was in superb form for the Waratahs as they shot out of the gates in the early weeks of the Super 12.

However a bad ankle injury coincided with the Waratahs' slide out of semifinal contention.

But as the Chiefs discovered, Rogers looked primed for a big year.