Craig Dowd
Chiefs illustrate coaching chops of Dave Rennie
Craig Dowd
March 4, 2015
Johan Bardoul replaced Brodie Retallick against the Crusaders © Getty Images
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It may still be early in the Super Rugby season, but quality is already starting to emerge - with the Chiefs-Crusaders game in Hamilton a case in point.

I thought the Chiefs were outstanding; they went out with a clear game plan and had a targeted approach as to where they wanted to attack. As for the Crusaders, it was not a case their form is dropping. They certainly tried hard and played well in places, and the result was more a case of the tactics the Chiefs adopted.

They were completely the right tactics: straight down the middle, good old-fashioned pick and go. They knew the Crusaders had a new No.9 at that level, a good player but one who has a lot of learning to do. They targeted him and they targeted inside Colin Slade at first five-eighths, anything around the breakdown with pick and goes, and it worked for them. They were bringing big men in from the backs to be part of that and to create go-forward, and it is very, very hard to stop.

And I think the Crusaders needed to change the way they were defending: they have a straight-line defence across the field - similar to their attack - but when you've got big men standing out in midfield trying to defend and it is not going anywhere near them, you need those big men in close and running at the little men.

The Chiefs and the Crusaders are both good squads, but one team had a master plan that paid dividends for them. For coaches Dave Rennie and Todd Blackadder, the players are the chess pieces that they play. You are prepared for it next time, but next time around the Chiefs might take a completely different approach. You lull someone into a false sense of security and then you do something they don't expect. That's sport in general.

It's having someone like Sonny Bill Williams in your backs and getting guys to double-mark him. So you don't give him the ball because there's a hole somewhere else. When you've got a danger man like that, he tends to draw a lot of defences but creates overlaps.

Williams has been outstanding in the way he has slotted back into the side. When you have the physical talents that he possesses, he can get himself out of any trouble he gets involved in because he's a big man, he's strong and he has the skill levels that rugby and league command. They are similar skill sets.

I also think the move to take him on the All Blacks tour at the end of last year gave him that lead straight back in. It was a move that was criticised because of the effect it had on other players, but in the big scheme of things you have to look at the overall picture. It's a cut-throat industry, all about putting the best players on the field.

Charlie Ngatai is taking his game to a new level, Craig Dowd believes © Getty Images
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When you talk about players running off the attention SBW attracts, you have to say Charlie Ngatai has made the most of it. Ngatai burst on the scene as a 16-17-year-old playing for Poverty Bay, and he's just found his feet with Taranaki last year and now he's just kicked on at that level.

A lot of times guys just need a break, need to have someone step out of their way to get a run of games at the top level. Charlie Ngatai has stepped in there and is playing great rugby.

Sam Cane also had a great game. There has been a lot of debate about him, and Matt Todd, and here they were head-to-head. Cane really stepped up because he knew with Richie McCaw on one side and Todd on the other that he needed a big game. He showed some really good vision in the pass he threw.

There seems to be something in that Chiefs environment. Players like Johan Bardoul went on as a replacement for Brodie Retallick and immediately played with confidence, and that is a sign of good coaching and a good environment.

There will be some soul searching within the Crusaders camp after the loss. But there are too many good players in that environment, and too many leaders, for them not to grab the thing by the scruff of the neck. I think they'll bounce back. Certainly not accumulating the points right now is going to hurt them - and they'll be aware of that - but the important thing is how they bounce back from this loss.

Sometimes getting a good shake-up or knocked on your arse, which is what happened to them, can make you get back up on your feet and react. You never write the Crusaders off. That's the one thing we have learned in the past; they have that attitude. They'll be hurting from that game.

The Crusaders have too many strong leaders to be down for long, Craig Dowd says © Getty Images
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The Blues, meanwhile, faced an interesting end to their game in Bloemfontein and I think it was a classic case of 'if you live by the sword, you die by the sword'. I understand what they were trying to do, and another referee would have given the Blues a penalty, but this is one of the reasons the game of rugby is so confusing to someone outside looking in. Someone attempting to learn the game can turn off it because it is so complicated and a game can come down to a decision that is so technical and frustrating.

Were the Blues hard done by? Yes, possibly, but it was one of those decisions and it should not have come down to that play to decide the game. If you play well, you get your points on the board and you don't roll the dice on a referee's decision. If it were a scrum it could have been the same thing.

The Hurricanes looked class in making it 3:3, and Julian Savea did look Lomu-ish when he scored that try bouncing a guy off him. We said last week that they have an All Blacks backline, and I think they have just got to have the confidence and self-belief.

The Highlanders picked up a good scalp in beating Queensland. The Reds are not slouches, and it is clear that Will Genia is on the way back; he really showed his class, which is what they need.

Referees: Do I need to blow this whistle?

Commenting on the scrums and the referees again, I think the key thing in the context of the game is, to penalise or not to penalise. The key line for every referee is 'in the context of the game can I play on?'. That's the law and the way it is supposed to be interpreted. Once we can adopt that line and every referee has it written on top of his whistle, he asks himself before he blows the pea: 'Do I need to blow this whistle?'

That's more the message they should be employing rather than slamming the table and saying "I am just going to blow it harder". They need to think about the whole picture, what everyone wants to see and what is best for the game.

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