Assistant coach Tabai Matson thinks the Chiefs' loss to the Jaguares on Friday night will come back to bite them later in the season.
The Jaguares backed up last week's historic win over the Blues in Auckland with a 23-19 win over the Chiefs at Rotorua International Stadium - their fourth-straight victory.
A month ago the Argentinian side was struggling, having won two of their first seven games, but wins over the Rebels and Brumbies in Australia, and now the Blues and Chiefs in New Zealand have propelled them into a playoff spot. They currently sit second in the South African conference and seventh overall.
The loss was the Chiefs' third of the season, and now the two-time champion Chiefs sit fourth in the New Zealand conference on 27 points, one behind the Highlanders and five behind the Hurricanes - both of whom are yet to play, which means the Chiefs could slip further behind the pack.
Speaking to Brendan Telfer on RadioLIVE's Saturday Sport, Matson said the Chiefs were not up to the challenge in Rotorua.
"I think last night's result will come back to haunt us in a couple of months," Matson said.
"Across a number of parts of the game they put us under immense pressure. Considering their travel schedule with it being their fourth game (away from home) all of the circumstances they had to face, they were outstanding last night.
"We knew it was a really important match in Rotorua and we probably were surprised by their physicality at times and their defensive effort was exceptional.
"To be fair, it is their fourth victory in a row - they were emphatic and too good for us, and we failed in a number of areas, so we take our hats off to them."
The Chiefs now turn their attention to a two-game road trip to South Africa where they will face the Stormers and Sharks in Cape Town and Durban.
The Chiefs have won four of their last five against both Stormers and the Sharks.
They will be facing a tough challenge without a couple of key players for the road trip. They will be without Sam Cane (abdominal strain) and Lachlan Boshier (appendicitis) for both games, while Brodie Retallick, Damian McKenzie, Nathan Harris and Anton Lienert-Brown will have to return home after Cape Town with All Blacks camp on May 20.
"The next two weeks will be critical for us."
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