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'We're all in shock' - Colin Cooper reacts to Brumbies drubbing

Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs is tackled. Photo / Getty Images

Chiefs coach Colin Cooper has expressed an overall feeling of disbelief after his side were punished 54-17 by the Brumbies in Canberra last night.

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“We’re all in shock, really, and surprised with that result,” Cooper told Stuff after the match.

“They just played better than us everywhere, and I guess it’s one of those games you just want to forget.

“I’m a bit speechless.”

In his 122 previous Super Rugby games as head coach, Cooper’s sides had never conceded 50 points. The eight tries the Brumbies ran in is a non-South African first against the side, and the loss is the first time in eight years that the Chiefs have opened the season with back to back losses.

“I think they were just more accurate, their collision area was more accurate, they got better ball, when we made mistakes they capitalised,” Cooper said.

“I think they put great pressure on, they did really well in slowing our ball down, and we didn’t react very well. When we carried we weren’t direct enough.”

One look at the full-time statistics paints a picture of the match. The Chiefs conceded 463 metres with ball in hand, missed 23 tackles and had their line broken 15 times. They managed just 165 metres and two line breaks themselves.

“We’ve got to fix it quickly,” Cooper said. “So we’ll be doing everything we can to be prepared and ready for the Sunwolves. We’re very disappointed.”

The Chiefs will be hoping to bounce back against the Sunwolves in Hamilton next weekend, though it will be far from a walkover after the Japanese side pushed the Waratahs to the edge in a narrow 31-30 loss over the weekend.

The Brumbies will be looking to continue their winning ways when they meet the Hurricanes in Palmerston North next weekend, a New Zealand side that looked vulnerable in a crushing 38-22 defeat at the hands of the Crusaders on Saturday night.

Rugby World Cup City Guides – Oita:

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Nickers 29 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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