Chiefs stars are coming to aid of hospice

Standing together for a photo, Sonny Bill Williams takes a dig at his Chiefs teammate Tanerau Latimer about his undies. The pair are playing up for the camera while trying to think of a secret they can share about midfielder Richard Kahui, who smugly pipes up "you've got nothing on me. I don't get up to trouble."

It's a funny statement considering he has a bloodshot eye that's so puffy it's almost swollen shut and bruises all over his face.

"It's nothing serious, just a bit of bruising, for once it makes me look like a man so I'll take it," he said of the injury he sustained while playing against the Sharks in South Africa in the last Super 15 game.

At the Chiefs training session in Hamilton on Thursday, Williams, Kahui and Latimer shared a handful of secrets about themselves in preparation for a charity fundraising evening where the audience can pick their brains. The trio and first five-eighth Aaron Cruden will be in Tauranga on May 9 to talk about all things rugby and field more questions at an event in the evening to raise funds for Waipuna Hospice.

Each year the hospice must raise $1.5 million.

Fundraising manager Trish Rae said this was a way of raising funds while also having some top rugby players sharing their goals, passions, troubles and triumphs.

At the team training, Williams said it was more intimidating standing in front of a media scrum than in front of thousands of people at a sold-out stadium. He also shared the fact he was a trouble-maker at school because he had a short attention span and "liked to have a laugh with the boys".

Kahui said he was an exemplary student at primary school, all right at intermediate and "played up a bit" at high school but knuckled down in a building apprenticeship and became a qualified builder while playing rugby at an elite level.

Latimer, a Te Puke local, said he was honoured to be a part of the Waipuna Hospice fundraiser, as he had lost family members to cancer. Two secrets he shared was that he is scared of heights, snakes and spiders and broke his arm when sleep-walking as a child.

The first bone Williams broke was a big toe when he was about 10. "I was chasing my sister around the house and I ran straight into the side of a chair. I wasn't allowed to play footy so I was really upset," he said.

But today, Williams and his teammates are injury-free and hope to continue their franchise record of seven consecutive wins in the Super 15 competition. They hope to make it eight when they take on the Hurricanes tonight in Hamilton.

"I think reason behind our success is the camaraderie, the boys are playing for each other. We've got a lot of new faces but everyone's in the same boat, we've got nothing to lose and everyone is playing really well," Williams said. "But one of the biggest things is with most wins that we've had, the boys have been a little bit filthy with themselves about the way we've performed and we can play better so we're striving for that perfect performance."

Few changes have been made to the Chiefs team through the first half of the campaign, which has put pressure on the likes of Williams and Kahui, who have played every game so far. Recovery and physio sessions were a key part of pre and post match preparations but the main reason the team was doing so well was because they had a strong group of 22 players week after week, Kahui said.

"It's nice to know we're making a bit of history but the history we want to make is to win our first Super title and for that to happen we have to keep winning and keep improving as a team and this week is another chance for that."

The Chiefs, who traditionally were backs-dominated, appear to have a strengthening forward line, with prop Sona Taumalolo the top try scorer for the team and the competition. Kahui said the team's success was a combination of everyone doing their job.

"We've got Sona scoring tries up the front but we've got new guys, Brodie Retallick and Sam Cane and those boys in forward pack who are working really hard.

"Everyone's bringing things and adding something to the team, so I don't think you can have a successful team with one or two people playing well. You have to have the whole 15, or whole 22, every weekend and that's what we've got a the moment."