Chiefs loss confuses Foster
Sun, 11 May 2008 10:24
Coach Ian Foster was too confused to contemplate an escape route for the Chiefs after their shock 27-33 defeat by the last placed Lions on Saturday.
The shocking second consecutive loss in as many weeks has left the Chiefs in an almost impossible position to reach the Super 14 playoffs after a highly promising lead up to the previous weekend's last-minute 21-22 loss to the Western Force.
The Chiefs meet the fifth-placed Sharks in Durban in the final round-robin match next Saturday and even if they cause an upset they will have to depend on the Blues and the Stormers losing.
"It was a very disappointing performance by us again. I don't think we dealt very well with the pressure," he said.
"We made too many mistakes in that first 50 to 60 minutes and gave a team that was lacking in confidence a lot of confidence. They didn't have to do a lot to get tries against us. It's very frustrating and very disappointing."
Both teams scored three tries apiece, but fullback Earl Rose kicked 18 points to seal victory for the Lions who had won just one of their previous 11 matches.
Even losing hooker Tom Willis to injury late in the buildup wasn't good enough reason for the now seventh-placed Chiefs to fall so badly.
The final score was rather flattering for them as they had run in a converted try each by wing Lelia Masaga and fullback Mils Muliaina in the last two minutes to earn a bonus point after trailing 13-33.
"We just made too many errors around half-time," captain Muliaina said.
"We let them in for a soft try just before the break and then some bad mistakes crept in when we started off after half-time."
After a 38th minute try by lively Lions No 8 Willem Alberts, the Chiefs conceded a scrum penalty from which Rose increased their half-time lead to 20-13.
The Chiefs then lost a lineout and flyhalf Stephen Donald badly misjudged a clearing kick. Masaga further aggravated their problem by losing the ball in a tackle from which the home team counter attacked beautifully and captain Cobus Grobbelaar scored.
Prop Ben May was dismissed for trampling Lions flank Joe van Niekerk in the face. Not only did it leave the Chiefs a man down over the final quarter, but the decision ruled out a subsequent try in the movement to Masaga.
"I've got no idea at the moment," Foster said when asked about the Chiefs' playoff chances.
"We're hurting. But we're pretty proud. We've still got one more game and we'll go for it. But right now it's just a very frustrating period."
Foster didn't dodge the realities either.
"It's got to be something. I guess we've got to find out.
"We seem to have run out of juice a little bit, particularly in our forward pack. The likes of Toby Lynn and Kevin O'Neill and our front rowers have had a huge workload with Jono Gibbes and those guys being out.
"Maybe we just reached a point where we've run out of energy. I'm not sure."
Their injury curse struck again, with Willis ruled out in the leadup (pulled muscle in the rib area) and backs Sitiveni Sivivatu (ankle) and Donald (neck) and loose forward Sione Lauaki (hamstring) all suffering at Ellis Park.
"I thought Aled de Malmanche did really well in finishing his first 80-minute game with all his asthma and breathing difficulties, but the quality of the role at hooker wasn't good enough and certainly we lost a huge amount of confidence at lineout time."
