'Well done, but could do better' report for Foster's boys

When the Chiefs do their debrief this week they'll see plenty of good things.

As they're running their eye down the result card, they'll pinpoint the second-round loss to the Cats in Johannesburg as the single most disappointing performance.

The Cats were down to 14 men by halftime. The Chiefs began the second spell 16-9 up, yet somehow lost to the worst team in the competition (the Force did finish bottom, but looked an infinitely better prospect at the end).

On its own, because it happened so early, the Chiefs had plenty of time to recover. But they spent most weeks on the edge of the top four, invariably stretching to get their fingers on the edge of the playoff platform, but finding it just a few centimetres out of reach.

They finished seventh and with a resounding third successive win over the Blues as a suitably rousing farewell to long-servers Mark Ranby and captain Jono Gibbes (if he heads overseas as is strongly rumoured).

There's an argument that you're best remembered by your last display. On that basis, the Chiefs' card will be marked with a series of big ticks, a couple of capital Xs and a "well done, but could do better" note.

No franchise has been more beset by injuries and if one of the ambitions of coach Ian Foster and his management staff was to add some depth to the squad generally they succeeded.

The likes of prop Nathan White, flanker Liam Messam, winger Anthony Tahana and halfback Jamie Nutbrown all made worthy contributions in their debut seasons at the Chiefs.

There were titanic contributions from Sam Tuitupou and Sione Lauaki, a strong campaign from Sitiveni Sivivatu, the only Chief to start all games, and quality from the likes of Bernie Upton, Marty Holah, Steven Bates - all played in every match - Mils Muliaina and, as the season reached its climax, Byron Kelleher, David Hill and Gibbes.

The pick of the bunch? Tuitupou, who rediscovered his blockbusting running and muscular defence after switching from the Blues to such an extent his name will be among the 39 All Blacks coach Graham Henry reads out on May 28 for the first three tests of the year. If he's not in a group that big, he should pack it in and take up marbles.

Lauaki was near unstoppable at times and gave the pack real offensive punch, until sidelined by injury with five games left. If Gibbes does depart, he will leave a substantial hole, in both playing and leadership terms. But this is a franchise who won four of their last five games, an indicator of a team growing in stature and self-belief.

If they took hard the slender back-to-back losses to the Crusaders and Brumbies in mid-season plus the Cats defeat - remembering they finished just four points out of the semifinal mix - there will have been valuable lessons learned. And the most important one in such a tight competition is the golden rule that every point counts.