Rugby: Crushing Chiefs a revelation to all

Ben Tameifuna brings down Crusader Robbie Fruean. Photo / Getty Images

Sonny Bill Williams crashing hard yards up the middle - that was something everyone could foresee. The Chiefs' pack crushing the Crusaders' scrum in Napier? Seriously - it would have been hard to make up a more ridiculous story.

This supposedly, at best, average tight five who have been fingered as the Chiefs' weak spot took on the might of the Franks brothers, Corey Flynn and a trio of bruising locks. Car crash material, everyone said.

They were right - except it was the Chiefs who did the buckling; the Chiefs who had the Franks boys shaking their heads, glaring at the referee for the constant penalties that he had no choice but to award.

Ben Franks in particular was having all manner of difficulties dealing with the 140kg Ben Tameifuna. The 20-year-old is built like a bath tub and, while his potential has been obvious, it has been shrouded in doubt. Questions have been asked whether he can last 80 minutes at his current weight. Those who know him have feared his lack of work ethic would ultimately prevent him from achieving the base fitness levels needed to perform at this level.

The Chiefs threw him in against the Blues because they didn't really have a choice. They were rewarded with 60 minutes of solid work. As Super Rugby debuts go, he could take some pride in his and yet there was this residual fear that had Tony Woodcock been available, Tameifuna would have been shunted around in the scrums and left with virtually no juice in the tank for anything else.

That scenario would surely eventuate on Friday night when Tameifuna would face the best scrummaging pack in the country - maybe even the competition. Ben Franks would give him the working over that Woodcock couldn't deliver in absentia.

Franks was hauled after 60 minutes - forced to make way for Wyatt Crockett. As strong as an ox and technically sound, Franks couldn't get a pocketful of loose change out of Tameifuna. The youngster appeared to be equipped with not only bulk, but enormous raw strength and some idea of what he was doing.

Come the hit, Franks would reel and then scramble, often using his left arm as leverage. On the other side, little brother Owen was faring little better against Sona Taumalolo. The scrum dominance had enormous significance in the outcome of the game, and way beyond.

Mentally the Chiefs should fear no one now. They can scrum, while Brodie Retallick cleaned out the Crusaders in the air. The Chiefs owned the set piece and their pick and go work was top notch. Last year they didn't have enough low, driving ball carriers. The arrival of forwards coach Tom Coventry has fixed that.

Coventry is fast establishing himself as one of the best forwards coaches in the country - he tightened the Samoan forwards at the World Cup and, while it was possibly tactically dubious, he did turn them into expert technical exponents of pick and go.

"Tom Coventry needs to take a lot of the credit for the way the forwards played," says head coach Dave Rennie. "We put a lot of time into selection to make sure we picked forwards with a good work ethic, guys we felt would give plenty and work for each other.

"In the case of Ben [Tameifuna], he has been creating a bit of havoc in training at the scrum. He did really well for us on Friday. He's very skilful, has a lot of bulk and is technically pretty sound as well. But he has got a long way to go. We want him to be able to give an 80-minute performance as he's going to come up against a lot of older, more experienced props in this competition.

"I thought Brodie Retallick was our best player against the Highlanders [week one] and has continued to perform. He's another big man and his aerial work is greatly improved. He's a smart kid and the thing with him and Ben is they both understand there is a long way to go in this competition."