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Warren Gatland's methods under question by fans as Chiefs complete a Kiwi Grand Slam of losses
By Online Editors
The Chiefs slumped to their fourth loss of Super Rugby Aotearoa against the Hurricanes, growing pressure on Lions coach Warren Gatland.
The Hurricanes led 20-6 at halftime on the back of a long range penalty by Jordie Barrett after the hooter. A frustrated Chiefs assistant Neil Barnes labelled the penalty decision as 'shitty' during the break in a fiery halftime report.
Despite Hurricanes lock Scott Scrafton missing 30 minutes of the second half with a yellow card followed by a red one, the winless Chiefs could not reign in the large deficit going down 25-18 after a fight back in the last quarter.
New Zealand fans questioned why the All Blacks would need "Warrenball" tactics while South Africans quizzed whether this is what they will see next year from the touring Lions. Another called this Chiefs side 'the worst since the 2000s'.
Gatland's lean streak with the Chiefs contrasts with the early season start which saw the side defeat the defending champion Crusaders while also mounting a second-half comeback to defeat the Blues at Eden Park.
Those promising victories seem a lifetime ago now with losses to the Highlanders, Blues, Crusaders and now Hurricanes completing a 'Grand Slam of losses' in the New Zealand conference.
Stuff's writer Paul Cully wrote that 'Gatland cut an increasingly anxious figure in the coaching box as his attack continued to splutter' in a piece proclaiming the wheels have fallen off the Chiefs.
Gatland's side now gets some respite with the bye next week allowing the team to regroup and look to become spoilers in the second half of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
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Latest Comments
I think England obviously need to train alot more to fix their defense. Time together working to ensure each defender takes the right man is paramount or we're going to see the same amount of tries and losses. Then what? Sack the coach? What a joke that would be. The other fix is being accurate with your basics. England were sloppy to excess, dropped balls in the midfield. Charged down boxkicks, failed restarts. They need to carry out their basic skills accurately. This is a domestic club training responsibility. England should not be teaching their players catching skills. If the clubs are not spending time with skills training then the players need to step up and do it on their own time. There is no excuse for sloppy play at Test match level. They won't win squat if they don't aspire to be the best. Lastly we have the scrum which should be a strength of England but its flakey as. Okay its year one of the world cup cycle and you'd rather have these issues now that 2026 / 27 but we have alot to fix and we also have a media who won't give Borthwick the time he needs to fix them. That paragon of rugby Ugo Monye is already screaming for Borthwick's head. 14 caps and two tries and apparently he's the rugby media mesiah... ...This is where you say he's not the mesiah, he's a very naughty boy.
Go to commentsBen Smith your a biased against the Springboks -making it so obvious as a journalist makes you totally inadequate and not worthy of being taken seriously.
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