KEY POINTS:
At last. The Chiefs broke their Super 14 duck in Hamilton last night but not without a fresh injury blow.
Test lock Keith Robinson is out for up to three weeks with a calf injury, picked up during the week and kept quiet in the leadup to the match.
It might have been critical against a better team, but the Chiefs pack were impressive, none more so than openside flanker Marty Holah.
He gave a master class in pinching turnover ball, but hard-running lock Kristian Ormsby, hooker Tom Willis, loosies Sione Lauaki and Liam Messam and Robinson's replacement Toby Lynn, in their own distinctive ways, all made worthy contributions.
A glance at the Chiefs' Super rugby statistics would have given a betting man a clue where to put his money last night.
On the nine previous occasions they have played a game after leaving South Africa, they'd won six of them.
Going into the second half, with the game under control, the Chiefs strove for two tries for a bonus point.
It didn't come until shortly before the end when Messam picked up a loose ball from yet another Lions backline boo boo to score by the posts.
And there was a bonus to the bonus, Tane Tu'ipulotu grabbing an intercept for a 75m runaway to end the match.
The Chiefs did everything right in the first half.
They had much the better of territory and possession. What football the Lions tried to play was from inside their half, apart from one useful period early on when solid Chiefs defence thwarted them.
They relied on close-quarter play, in-passes and might as well have given their wide men a deckchair and book so rarely did they seek to be adventurous.
The Lions were stiffed in only one respect. Talkative referee James Leckie put robust No 8 Jacques Cronje in the sin bin after 21min, without so much as a warning, for pulling down a threatening Chiefs drive near the tryline.
Stephen Donald kicked an early penalty and got the opening try, his one-handed force down wide on the right capitalising on a clever grubber kick to the corner by halfback Brendon Leonard.
Lions captain Andre Pretorius made his one sharp break of the match - to go with some dreadful kicking - but Cronje's departure, followed immediately by a well-worked Chiefs drive from a lineout for Holah to get the try, proved crucial. It gave the Chiefs a useful advantage.
The work of Tasesa Lavea at second five-eighth was important for the Chiefs. In his first game since the opening round, during which he damaged a medial ligament, Lavea kicked intelligently and was able to turn middle of the park situations into strong attacking positions.
Two other tries were squandered by the Chiefs before the break. Right wing Lelia Masaga couldn't control an awkward bounce a decent stride from the line after a tasty Lavea kick to the corner, and centre Tu'ipulotu cut inside when he had the flying Masaga clear 40m out on his right.
In his present form, you'd have had a bet on Masaga making it to the line.
There was a late consolation try for Pretorius, but their minds were on the flight home. The Chiefs were wearing the smiles.
Chiefs: S. Donald 2, M. Holah, L. Messam, T. Tu'ipulotu tries; Donald pen, con; D. Sweeney 2 con
Lions: A. Pretorius try, con. Halftime: 13-0.
