Rugby: Chiefs still have some fixing to do

The 16-15 loss in Melbourne left Dave Rennie's side five points behind the Canes. Photo / Christine Cornege

The good news for the Chiefs is they have a fortnight to rectify what went wrong against the Rebels before they face the biggest game of the season.

The bad news for the Chiefs is Saturday night's unseemly defeat saw them plagued by a pair of problems that will take some fixing ahead of a clash with the Hurricanes.

The 16-15 loss in Melbourne left Dave Rennie's side five points behind the Canes at the top end of the New Zealand conference, a gap that could grow during a bye week that sees the competition leaders host the Sharks.

If there is a 10-point difference between the teams when they meet in Wellington on May 16, a win would be essential if the Chiefs have any hopes of earning home advantage in the playoffs.

But the Chiefs are well aware of just how much they need to fix before the potential playoff permutations can be discussed.

Coming into the contest with the Rebels, the Chiefs already led the competition in conceding 12 penalties a game. They eclipsed that number by infringing 14 times, while James Lowe and Liam Messam both had stints in the sin bin.

Those yellow cards gave the Chiefs nine from 11 games and, with three on his own, Lowe will now have a date with the judiciary.

Five penalties in the first 15 minutes handed the Rebels the initiative and an error-prone attack saw the Chiefs struggle to seize it back. The platform laid by a solid set piece was continually squandered though a lack of execution or poor decision-making, leaving the Chiefs held to their second-lowest score of the season.

If discipline and handling were major focuses of a mid-season review during the the Chiefs' first bye, then both will undoubtedly receive extra attention during the next fortnight. Because if amendments aren't made, the Hurricanes could streak away.

"The next couple of games between us and the Hurricanes will be pretty crucial," said flanker Sam Cane. "It only takes a couple of poor performances and you can be slipping down the ladder pretty quickly."

Cane said this season's version of the Hurricanes were "without a doubt" the best he had seen, but also said that he backed the Chiefs to hold their own.

"We rate our pack and we'll back ourselves against anyone if we get our attitude right."