Rugby: Astonishing Chiefs keep record intact

Dwayne Sweeney of the Chiefs is tackled by Jaque Fourie of the Lions. Photo / Getty Images

SUPER 14
Chiefs 36
Lions 29

The Chiefs, after an hour of insipid bumbling football, popped the cork again last night and produced a 20-minute burst of champagne rugby to remember.

The Lions gave them no choice - they found a rhythm and intensity no one, probably not even themselves, thought they were capable of.

What had the look of a lucky streak in the opening 10 minutes, stretched into sustained excellence from the Lions and it flustered the Chiefs.

When Earl Rose picked off a backline move to scamper almost 80 metres to clinch the bonus try and put his side 29-10 ahead on the cusp of the final quarter, it moved into do or die mode for the Chiefs.

Given the resilience and determination they had shown to put their season back on track after three straight opening losses, it would have been criminal to have tossed so much of that endeavour away.

A home loss to the Lions - that would have been the one to look back on at the season's end, shake the head and wonder why. Wonder how on earth they could have come into this game on such a hot streak and limped out of it bruised and broken.

But the Chiefs of 2009 are a side with depth of character. They played their way back into the contest with a mix of invention, improved execution and increased intensity.

Even more impressive was their refusal to panic, to play headless football - chuck daft passes, run blind alleys and then claim it was catch-up football.

What they did do was produce a four-try blitz in 10 minutes that knocked the stuffing out of the Lions. The way Hika Elliot scrambled over was a sign of the determination.

The hooker was a few yards short when he picked up and the instant his hands touched the ball, there wasn't a soul in the stadium who didn't think he was going to score.

Dwayne Sweeney showed much the same level of determination when he beat the Lions' cover defence to pounce on a well-weighted grubber and claim his hat-trick.

It was quite astonishing the way the Chiefs just suddenly clicked and they are now the team no one will want to play. They are a side with belief and this amazing capacity to convert opportunity into points.

It's the speed of their thinking, the volume of runners they have in support of the ball and their ability to play touchline-to-touchline that makes them so dangerous.

What was even more astonishing about their performance last night was that there was no inkling the detonator was ever going to be plunged.

For the first hour, the flow and confidence of the last few weeks wasn't quite there. Sione Lauaki was heavily involved again but not at the same pace and intensity as he had been.

The big man was a little static, guilty of getting himself a little upright, and the Chiefs with Lauaki at light grill rather than fan bake weren't quite the same side.

Their ambition and adventure was all there. Their appetite for the collisions was still ravenous but what they lacked was polish.

There was too much spilt ball. Too many passes that left men checking their runs and not enough support from Paul Marks to do something about the constant infringing of the Lions at the breakdown.

The Australian issued a final warning to the Lions after half an hour but let 20 minutes pass before he brandished a yellow card to No 8 Ernst Joubert. And the response when confronted by a Lion is obvious - they have a propensity to bite.

In some cases, as the Chiefs discovered, such bites can be administered with rather alarming consequences.

Now let's be honest, not many people thought the Lions who turned up in Hamilton were anything but a danger to themselves. They don't have much in the way of success behind them and a decent home win against the Brumbies isn't reason to start taking them super seriously.

But for the first hour they were in control - they had the Chiefs worried. That was until Lauaki cranked up a gear, Richard Kahui became more influential, Brendon Leonard made more mileage and the front five woke up.

Five wins on the trot for the Chiefs. It's the same old story - their mid-season surge is on but this time it feels like it might be for real. That they might have started from far enough back and that there might not be any teams capable of derailing it.

Chiefs 36 (D. Sweeney (3), J. Willison, H. Elliot tries; S. Donald 4 cons, pens) Lions 29 (J. Vermaak, J. Fourie (2), E. Rose tries; A. Pretorius 3 cons, DG)