Rugby: Chiefs ring changes to blunt Stormers' power

Tim Nanai-Williams is to make his first start of the season in tomorrow's match. Photo / Getty Images

A familiar refrain kept cropping up as Dave Rennie explained the reasoning behind his revamped backline.

With the powerful Stormers pack and destructive defence having taken them to the top of the competition, the Chiefs know they need to avoid their opponents' strengths tomorrow morning (NZT) in Cape Town.

So, when detailing the four changes made to the backline, the focus for Rennie was firmly on speed and explosiveness.

That's not to say the Chiefs will completely avoid the physical work with ball in hand, but it will be on the backburner in favour of a game plan designed to evade what the Stormers do so well.

"There's no doubt that if we think we're going to go around the edges against these guys, we'll battle," Rennie said.

"So we're prepared to move the ball, but we'll still play what's in front of us. At times we'll go through the middle and at other times we'll have to move the pill."

Moving the pill has always been the main concern for Rennie's Chiefs and, with all four backline changes made with pace in mind, there will be no hesitation in taking the attack to the home side.

The coaches believed Brad Weber's speed would be important, so the halfback was given the nod ahead of Augustine Pulu. A similar desire at centre saw Tim Nanai-Williams the beneficiary of Charlie Ngatai's ankle injury, earning his first start of the season after experiencing health issues of his own.

Bryce Heem, picked to replace Hosea Gear on the right wing, has already exhibited his ability to begin a rapid counter-attack, while Damian McKenzie would offer more attacking verve than Tom Marshall at fullback.

"We're pretty keen to play him at 15," Rennie said of the 19-year-old. "He's electric, he's got a great skill-set and he's trained the house down. So we're really excited about unleashing him this weekend."

The Stormers, too, boast speed on the outside but their unbeaten start to the season has been built on a resolute defence allowing just a try a game. That defence has ceded the fewest metres (298.3) and clean breaks (3.5) of any team this campaign, providing a real test for a Chiefs attack that sits second in both categories.

"The hardest thing normally is they kill you at the source," Rennie said. "The key for them will be trying to disrupt our set-piece ball at lineout and scrum time, so that's going to be an important area for us. They key to upsetting their defence is getting quick ball and what's going to be paramount is the quality of our carry, our clean-out and our skill-set."

Another key for the Chiefs will be to seize their opportunities, having blown almost every chance in last weekend's home loss to the Highlanders. Rennie said the review indicated good ball up front and positive field position, but poor decision-making saw the Chiefs held to a pair of penalty tries.

"We created a lot of opportunities but didn't finish, and we can't afford to do that again this week if we want to challenge that sort of D. Hopefully we've picked a group of guys who understand the importance of it. We may only get two or three opportunities this week and we need to nail it."