Chiefs vs Blues preview:

Rugby was finally back the past weekend and it was amazing having the game back on our screens, but I believe that it is going to be even better this coming weekend.

This is going to be a very physical game upfront and free flowing at the back. There are good match-ups all the way down the team sheet and I m looking forward to these two teams going head to head.

The Blues are coming into this game with one of the most formidable loose-trios I have ever seen. Akira Ioane (the guy I picked to take up the number 8 jersey for the All Blacks after Read left) has not played a lot this season but I still rank him very highly and believe he will have a big impact with ball in hand. Dalton Papali’i, the impressive youngster that already made his debut for the All Blacks, is going to be the hard working player. I don’t think that you will see him doing the flashy things like making a bursting run but he will be disrupting the Chiefs ball at the breakdown. Hoskins Sotutu, last but not least they have another youngster that has been shining this season. He has kept Akira out of the team and that in itself is no mean feet. These three are going to have a massive impact on the game and if The Chiefs don’t find a way to stop them they will not stand a chance.

The Chiefs made a significant change in starting Cruden, he is going to give their attack more direction and will most likely make them harder to defend against. The only problem I see for The Chiefs is that their biggest asset is sitting on the sideline and not on the pitch, this biggest is their coach. He is definitely a world class coach, but I believe that all the time he spent in international rugby has made him a worse coach for a franchise team. He still has very good tactics but if you look at the way the chiefs play it is almost northern hemisphere rugby. This in itself is not a bad way to play, the problem is that this type of rugby is just not suited to all the players that have been bred on the more free flowing, running from anywhere form of rugby. Players like Damian McKenzie are being under utilized because if there is a kick coming at him his first thought now is to kick back and not look for the counter. I stand to be corrected and this weekend may be The Chiefs chance to prove me wrong, but the games I have seen this year from them it seems like they are trying to take great attacking players and changing their mindset to defensive players.

Key match-up:

Damian McKenzie vs Beauden Barrett: This is two of the most entertaining players in the world with ball in hand, how will they match up against each other? I believe that Damian is the better Fullback and that he is probably in the top 3 in the world if he is playing his normal game but as stated the new game-plan may have a impact on this. If he gets his way he will counter attack at every chance he gets and that is when he is at his best. Giving him free range to run, his whole game becomes better and he turns into a second playmaker. This allows the Chiefs to have a play maker either side of the ruck and helps them stretching the defence in all directions.

Barrett on the other hand has a free license to do as he seems fit just about all the time. Not only does he not have to structure the whole backline attack and focus more on his own game, but he is free to experiment and find those miracle moments he is known for. The Blues coach is making use of more than just his skill by tapping into his rugby brain, placing him at fullback I believe that he will be able to spot the gaps in the defence much quicker and then steer the team towards them so they can capitalize with efficiency. It is herein that I feel lies the deciding factor and why this battle will go in the favour of Barrett.

Teams:

ChiefsBlues

Starting XV
Aiden Ross	1	Alex Hodgman
Samisoni Taukei’aho	2	James Parsons
Nepo Laulala	3	Ofa Tu’ungafasi
Tupou Vaai	4	Patrick Tuipulotu
Naitoa Ah Kuoi	5	Josh Goodhue
Luke Jacobson	6	Akira Ioane
Lachlan Boshier	7	Dalton Papali’i
Pita Sowakula	8	Hoskins Sotutu
Brad Weber	9	Sam Nock
Aaron Cruden	10	Otere Black
Sean Wainui	11	Caleb Clarke
Anton Lienert-Brown	12	TJ Faiane
Quinn Tupaea	13	Rieko Ioane
Shaun Stevenson	14	Mark Telea
Damian McKenzie	15	Beauden Barrett
Bench
Bradley Slater	16	Kurt Eklund
Reuben O’Neill	17	Marcel Renata
Ross Geldenhuys	18	Sione Mafileo
Adam Thomson	19	Gerard Cowley-Tuioti
Dylan Nel	20	Tony Lamborn
Lisati Milo-Harris	21	Finlay Christie
Kaleb Trask	22	Harry Plummer
Solomon Alaimalo	23	Matt Duffie

My prediction:

I have a feeling that this will be a close game due to the caliber of both teams. The Chiefs are going to have a very good defensive system in place but this might still prove little worth defending against the best in the world. I predict good rugby and in the end Blues by 5.