Rugby: Rugby gods give Chiefs nothing to smile about

By CHRIS RATTUE

The Chiefs' foray into Highlanders territory turned into a shambles from which even the hardiest of Super 12 teams would have trouble emerging with victory.

The Highlanders ended a three-game losing streak with a 38-6 win, but the Chiefs could fairly claim they were dealt a series of bad hands.

Their affable coach, Ross Cooper, admitted yesterday that he was disappointed with a draw which saw the Chiefs have just two training runs before taking on last year's beaten finalists.

The Chiefs had protested at the draw, which forced them into a Thursday night game five days after playing the Bulls.

The Highlanders apparently wanted the switch because they leave today for South Africa where they play the Stormers and Bulls.

"I don't want to complain but we are disappointed in the draw. I don't think it was a very even playing surface," said Cooper.

The Chiefs were already without injured top forwards Royce Willis and Koula Tukino - who could have played if the game was at the weekend - and the quick turnaround was only the beginning of their troubles.

* An electrical fault on the direct flight to Dunedin meant they ended up waiting four hours at Christchurch Airport on Wednesday afternoon, when they should have been training.

* Flanker Glen Marsh was sick late on Wednesday and early into Thursday and withdrew from the side. That meant calling in Hare Makiri - who had not trained because of an ankle problem - and he arrived from Hamilton about eight hours before kickoff.

* The reshuffle saw Nick Holten, in his first game this season, switched from blindside to openside flanker. Lock Chresten Davis, a loose forward earlier in his career, was switched to blindside flank.

* Replacement lock Mark Cooksley quickly departed with a back injury, and the sinbinning of Davis for a professional foul early in the second half forced reserve No 8 Deon Muir to lock the scrum for a while. Holten was also sidelined with a broken nose and the crazy happenings forced the underprepared Makiri into a significant piece of the action.

* Wing Roger Randle struggled on with a hip injury but was eventually replaced by James Kerr, in his first Super 12 game for the Chiefs. Kerr had barely got on to the field when he suffered a cut to the chin which needed eight stitches. That forced second five-eighths Mark Ranby on to the wing.

Cooper said: "It was a shambles. I don't think I've ever been involved in a game like it."

The Chiefs trailed only 6-13 at halftime but were slaughtered in the second half. The player to catch the eye was Highlanders No 8 Paul Miller, who is rated a strong All Black prospect.

Miller has been hampered by injury this year but a player of his size must benefit from game time and he looks ready to deliver on his outstanding promise.

Chiefs No 8 Isitolo Maka, the former All Black who was ahead of Miller at the Highlanders last year, was fighting a losing battle considering the chaos in front of him.

The Chiefs' next game is against the Brumbies in Hamilton next Saturday. They then travel to South Africa to play the Sharks and Cats.

Their ragged season means that pressure will inevitably come on coach Cooper's position. He confirmed he had another season left on his New Zealand contract.

"I'll have to talk over my position at the end of the season," Cooper said. "We've got three games to go and hopefully we can get some results that will help other New Zealand teams."

Otago Highlanders 38 (Romi Ropati, Anton Oliver, Marc Ellis, Paul Miller tries; Tony Brown 4 pen, 3 con) Chiefs 6 (Loki Crichton 2 pens). Halftime: 13-6.