Chiefs hold on by their fingernails

Sitiveni Sivivatu dives across for a try. Picture / Reuters

Chiefs 33 Cheetahs 32

Every now and then a game comes along you just can't figure out.

Take last night. There were the Chiefs, 21-3 up after 15 minutes and going like a train as the Cheetahs played statues. The Chiefs wobbled for a time in the second quarter, but had a bonus point by halftime.

And they finished up hanging on by their fingertips. The upshot is they move to 27 points and the playoff dream lives on. But it shouldn't have been a tightrope walk.

And figure this out: according to referee Stuart Dickinson the Cheetahs did not concede a penalty until the 72nd minute. It was one of those nights.

The Chiefs were hit by a malaise around the 20 minute mark, as they gifted two tries directly as a result of handing back hard-won possession.

The game went all peculiar. Structure went out the window. There was a prop passing to a prop in midfield where players wearing double digits should have been standing; ball was dropped, kicks charged down and possession snaffled away at ruck time as a strong whiff of disorganisation and untidiness shone through.

The Cheetahs, figuring that as they had a few hours to kill before catching a plane home they might as well have a crack, rolled their sleeves up and exhibited a rolling maul to have rugby men of a certain age purring, before Sitiveni Sivivatu's second try just before halftime restored a nine-point advantage.

Earlier, tries came to Stephen Donald and Liam Messam.

Donald's was a beauty after captain Marty Holah - regular skipper Jono Gibbes was a late withdrawal with a niggling back problem - pinched the ball and it went through several hands. Sivivatu's first came after a strong Sam Tuitupou tackle on Giscard Pieters forced the ball loose while Messam charged across strongly after prop Nathan White had been held up over the line.

Maybe at that point it all seemed too easy. Whatever the reason, the second quarter wasn't pretty.

Messam had some good moments but lost the ball in a tackle, enabling Bevan Fortuin to set centre Ronnie Cooke on a clear run to the line; then Donald dropped a regulation pass and moments later Willem de Waal was running a clever angled line between four tacklers to the line. Suddenly 21-3 had become 21-17 and a distinctly sticky situation.

Huge prop Ollie le Roux fell across the line early in the second half to keep the Cheetahs close, rising from the turf looking like a creature from the deep.

Sean Hohneck's toe ahead and dive for what was defensively another soft try, regained the initiative for the hosts only for Sosene Anesi and Byron Kelleher to combine in an A-grade botchup on their line. Thank you said wing Pieters. 33-32 with 10 minutes left. Coaches don't need these sort of games.

The Cheetahs had their moments, halfback Falie Oelschig was a smart operator, and flanker Barend Pieterse and lock Cobus Grobler indefatigable workers.

Chiefs 33: S. Sivivatu 2, S. Donald, L. Messam, S. Hohneck tries; Donald 4 con
Cheetahs 32: R. Cooke, W. de Waal, O. le Roux, G. Pieters tries; de Waal 2 pen, 3 con.
HT: 26-17

Standings after last night's games:

Crusaders Played 10 Points 42
Waratahs 10 38
Hurricanes 9 33
Brumbies 9 28
Chiefs 10 27
Bulls 9 23
Sharks 9 22
Blues 9 22
Highlanders 10 22
Cheetahs 10 20
Stormers 10 18
Reds 10 17
Cats 9 6
Western Force 10 4