Chiefs draw encouragement from first outing under Mitchell
February 3, 2001

In front of a large crowd in Gisborne on Saturday, the Chiefs drew 28-28 with the Hurricanes in a Super 12 warm-up fixture.

The Hamilton-based franchise, the Chiefs, have a disappointing Super 12 record, the poorest of the five New Zealand sides, the only one never to have made the semis.

But the recruitment of former Waikato skipper and England assistant coach John Mitchell has raised expectations that this might be about to change in 2001.

His squad has been hard at work since early December, focussing on their fitness and conditioning ahead of their Super 12 opener against the Waratahs in Sydney in three weeks time.

One of Mitchell's trademarks as a coach is the defensive organisation of his sides and on Saturday there was evidence that his side will be difficult to break down. In addition,he will be looking to build on and exploit the pace of wingers like Bruce Reihana and Roger Randle.


Hurricanes : 28 ( Fa'atau, Thompson, Paku tries ; Lilley 2 conversions, Holwell 1 conversion, Paku 1 conversion.)

Chiefs : 28 ( Reihana, Gibbs, Randle, Mitchell tries ; Jackson 2 conversions, Hill 2 conversions.)

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices