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'We wanted the Chiefs to believe they were not going to play' - Lions CEO admits to deliberately duping Chiefs

Malcolm Marx on the rampage against the Chiefs in Hamilton. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

In what is probably a first for professional rugby, Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli has revealed to Netwerk24 that when the Lions named their team to face the Chiefs, absent of Springboks Malcolm Marx and Elton Jantjies, they had no intention of not starting the international duo.

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“It was a tactical move to announce the team like that because we wanted the Chiefs to believe they were not going to play,” Straeuli said.

“With Malcolm on the bench, the Chiefs opted to rest some of their heavy forwards. With him in the starting team we could take them on at scrum time and it worked well. The foundation for our victory was laid up front.”

The Chiefs did field a relatively weak team with All Blacks Nathan Harris and Brodie Retallick missing. Both players’ omissions were dictated by injury, however, so the Lions gamble didn’t seem to impact the match.

The Lions won the game 23-17 but had to resist a late fightback from the Chiefs.

Missing Harris and Retallick, alongside other New Zealand representatives with longer term injuries such as Sam Cane and Kane Hames, no doubt played a part in the Chiefs loss, but it was probably livewire fullback Damian McKenzie’s injury which played a greater role in the outcome.

Still, the Lions’ tactic to mislead the Chiefs, whilst not explicitly banned, is a huge show of bad sportsmanship.

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The Lions have been dealing with an array of off-field issues this season: both head coach Swys de Bruin and defence coach Joey Mongalo returned home to South Africa before the first match of the tour due to health issues and an indecent assault conviction, respectively.

Adding one of the worst cases of bad sportsmanship in Super Rugby history to the list of problems that has plagued the Lions season will not bode well with the team’s stakeholders.

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Nickers 15 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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