Rugby: Can anyone stop the Chiefs?

Craig Clarke. Photo / Stephen Parker

If they had their time again the Chiefs coaching staff would do things a bit differently in the lead-up to their Super 15 rugby match against the Sharks.

For a start they might have eased off the training pedal a bit. It wasn't long into their grind against the South African team that they realised the V8 motor that had been purring along nicely was missing a couple of cylinders.

They might also have done some game-specific training with wet balls on hosed-down grounds. The heat wasn't so much a problem, but the humidity gave them a case of the dropsies, with Sonny Bill Williams having his most difficult outing in a Chiefs' shirt.

For all that, the Chiefs won, clean sweeping their three-match tour and returning to the heart of the Waikato on top of the table having notched their seventh win in a row.

"It's very satisfying to have a tour when you win three from three," said skipper Craig Clarke. "It doesn't happen too often so we're pretty chuffed."

It happened, actually, two years ago, when the Chiefs started the season on the road, beating the Sharks 19-18, the Lions 72-65 at the Force 37-19.

If that's an omen, it's not a good one, because the Chiefs went on to win just one more game that year.

This team looks like they're made of sterner stuff. For starters, they might have some of the best attacking backs in the competition, but their success is founded on defence. "We're working a bit better as a team. We're working for each other a bit more," Clarke said. "We're getting off the deck and getting a good line in place."

Don't underestimate a team that can hold the Sharks tryless on their own ground. That required a sound defensive system and the ability to scramble. The win came with its casualties. Lelia Masaga knocked himself and Lwazi Mvovo senseless when he got a kick chase wrong. There was nothing malicious in it, but Masaga fell short in the duty of care requirements.

Perhaps more worrying to followers of fashion was the news Richard Kahui may have broken his beak. A nation holds its breath.

Other than that, the Chiefs will arrive in Auckland around midnight tonight with few headaches. They've proved they can win in a variety of ways with a variety of personnel.

Tanerau Latimer, for example, has been playing some of the best rugby of his career. Yesterday he watched from the bench as his replacement, Sam Cane, 20, had the best game of his fledgling career.

The Chiefs' success defies explanation.

It's why there is still a sense out there that the Chiefs can't continue doing what they're doing - it's not as if they're the Crusaders or anything.