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Crusaders 19
Chiefs 13
KEY POINTS:
The Chiefs will be aiming to do things better rather than trying anything radically different when they travel to Sydney to take on the Waratahs on Friday night.
There was enough evidence in Saturday's narrow loss to the Crusaders to suggest the Chiefs were on the right track,
a rueful coach Ian Foster said.
With his side facing a six-day turnaround before meeting a Waratahs side sure to be buoyed by their opening-round victory over the Hurricanes in Wellington, Foster isn't contemplating big changes.
"I don't think it is a matter of doing too many things differently at the moment," he said. "We are leaving Christchurch with enough confidence that our game is not too far off. We just have to keep delivering our own ball the way we want it so we can structure our attack and we need to be just a wee bit smarter defensively.
"Our defence scrambled really well and was very committed but we made a couple of bad decisions through our backs that we need to tidy up a little bit."
With the Chiefs good enough to stay in the hunt against the Crusaders, but not quite good enough to seize victory when it was on offer, it was a fair assessment from Foster.
As for the Crusaders, not a lot seemed to have changed despite the departure of Robbie Deans and the absence of Dan Carter. Given the franchise's reliance on systems that have proved a continual blueprint for success, that was no surprise.
The champions defended grimly, converted a couple of chances and then stepped up a gear with the game on the line in the final 10 minutes.
The winning try to centre Casey Laulala resembled so many that have gone before it, coming after the Crusaders had set up camp in the Chiefs' 22 as they protected a one-point lead.
By then, the Chiefs' best chance had come and gone. Foster was left to lament a scrum that couldn't quite produce the quality ball to lay the platform for the Chiefs' sparkling backline - and thank a missed Colin Slade conversion for the bonus point his side eventually departed with.
"It is always frustrating to lose a very tight game and certainly it was a game where we had our opportunities," Foster said.
"But I'm not sure it was one that got away.
"We were put under a lot of pressure for large parts of the game and I felt at half time that the Crusaders had the momentum. They'd made us make a lot of tackles, they had more territory and they had a bit of ascendancy in disrupting our set piece ball.
"But I felt we came back and competed a lot better and were able to put a lot of pressure on them.
"Ultimately, they were good enough to take their [chance] at the end and we weren't - that was probably the story of the game."
No big tactical changes and for once no serious injuries, but Foster will surely have a close look at the hotly contested No 12 jersey, where Dwayne Sweeney was barely a qualified success.
Having got the nod ahead of Callum Bruce and Jackson Willison, Sweeney struggled to contain Laulala, twice being fended off and beaten on the outside.
Laulala was the game's dominant figure, pouncing on a Slade grubber to open the scoring and eventually crashing over for the winner.
Tim Bateman gobbled up a lose ball and streaked away for the Crusaders' other try, while Lelia Masaga scored one and set up another for Richard Kahui for the Chiefs.
With Stephen Donald, who turned in a mixed display, unable to convert either Chiefs try but kicking a penalty, the visitors found themselves just a point adrift heading into the final 15 minutes.
