One of the biggest names at the Chiefs has accused his own team of not trying hard enough in the opening month of Super Rugby.
They've lost all three games to start their 2019 campaign and senior All Black Anton Lienert-Brown has called out his team mates in no uncertain terms.
"Our effort hasn't been good enough," said Lienert-Brown. "We've been talking about those key points.
The 23-year-old wants more effort in battles over the ball and getting to the breakdown and questioned their commitment in crushing losses to the Highlanders, Brumbies and Sunwolves.
"The beauty of that is we've got all the talent here, but those things don't take talent. It's a mindset switch."
The Hamilton-based franchise has conceded the most linebreaks, run metres, tries and points in the first three weeks of action.
Defence wouldn't be as vital if they weren't handing over possession with turnovers and handling errors.
Honesty is at the heart of fixing failing teams and the usually understated Colin Cooper was brutally honest today.
"We're in a hole basically," said Cooper. "We're 0-3 and we don't like it.
"We've got to treasure the ball and go back to basics - the carry, the height of the carry, the inside and outside support."
Cooper says unity is a key to climbing out of their hole so while they're honest, they're also avoiding nasty finger pointing within the team.
But it won't be easy fixing their form against the two-time defending champion Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.
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