Chiefs to learn from defeat

The Crusaders kept their Super Rugby play-off aspirations alive, but the Chiefs feel they gained more from the encounter.

The Crusaders, needing a win to maintain their chance of appearing in the finals for the 12th consecutive year, dominated in the forwards to score three tries to two against the high-flying Chiefs and secure a 28-21 win in Hamilton on Friday.

Returning All Black stars Dan Carter, Israel Dagg and Kieran Read were pivotal for the Crusaders in a win which saw the Christchurch team bounce back from a shock 22-23 loss to the Hurricanes last week.

"We weren't up to it last week and really needed to step up to it," Crusaders captain Richie McCaw said after the win over the Chiefs.

"We talked about it and I thought we fronted up well, particularly on their set piece.

"It was a helluva intense game and we expected it."

Chiefs captain Liam Messam said his team would gain plenty from the match, despite the defeat - especially for the younger members of the side.

"It was pretty intense, both teams just flung into things," Messam said, adding: "We're going to learn from that pressure the Crusaders out on us.

"We know that's probably not our best performance and there's a lot more in us."

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie echoed his captain's thoughts and they were still in the match but felt there were a few things the side would need to work on heading into the play-offs.

"There's a bit of work to be done there, as Liam says you learn from those. In the end, I guess we got to look at the fact that we played a lot of the game without the ball and still were competitive on the scoreboard."