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Cavalry arrives for Chiefs

Tuesday 13th May 2008

On the mend: Sitivini Sivivatu's ankle is 'getting better'

The Chiefs will have most factors pointing against them when they try and topple the Sharks in Durban this weekend in their last attempt of reaching the Super 14 semi-finals.

With injuries to key players and back-to-back losses to the Force and Lions, things have gone from bad to worse at the most crucial time of competition.

However Chiefs coach Foster said all is not lost and the arrival of three players has really boosted the team.

"Brendon Leonard [scrum-half] has obviously just arrived along with John Pareanga [hooker] and Nathan White [prop] and Murray Williams [fly-half].

"They arrived safe and sound last night (Monday) and are looking good. We've got a training run shortly and we should get a bit of a heads up on some of the other guys," Foster told Sportal.

"Tom Willis is getting better and better and I guess the other three we've got a bit of concern on are Sione [Lauaki] whose hamstring is improving all the time.

"Sivi's [Sitivini Sivivatu] ankle is getting better all the time but it's still a little bit early to be definite and obviously there's Stephen Donald's neck and again there's a bit of doubt around that.

"Hopefully in the next twenty-four hours we will be clearing up some of those things," he said.

The Chiefs and Sharks each have must-win games this weekend in the final round of the competition as the race for the top four spots reaches a much anticipated climax.

The Chiefs must beat the Sharks, preferably with a bonus point, and rely on the Hurricanes to beat the Blues in Auckland and the Lions to down the Stormers in Johannesburg.

Foster said he knows how hard the Sharks will be to beat at home and understands how important the game is for both sides.

"It's going to be difficult, there's no doubt about that but we had a good session on Monday and a talk about what's important to us and there's still a huge desire in this squad," said Foster.

"There's no denying that it has been a destructive time period and we'll need the next three or four days to get our mental preparation right.

"Mathematically we've got a chance and we know that but whether we or not we see ourselves having a strong chance this match is going to be like a play-off game anyway because the Sharks are going to have to win this to get in.

"Whether we like it or not this is going to be a very intense play-off encounter.

"The task is still there to be done but the preparation is not ideal but there's a lot of excitement there."

Chiefs pivot Donald admits the frustration he and the rest of the team are feeling after losing two vital games on the trot after winning their previous five games.

"There's no denying that over the last couple of weeks we have let ourselves down and undone all the work we did in New Zealand but as Fosy [Foster] said there's plenty of reasons for us to be up this week," said Donald.

"The boys coming over have certainly added some excitement and this Saturday will be an exciting night for us and if we pull it off there's no doubt it'll be a great night for the Chiefs."

Depending on the results, there is a way the Chiefs performance may help fellow New Zealand side the Blues through to the semi-finals, something Donald said is far from the Chiefs thoughts and they will not want to help any other teams.

"To be honest we're just thinking about ourselves and there is a chance that if we win a team like the Blues could go through but we're only worrying about ourselves," he said.