Rugby: Chiefs claim crucial win over Stormers, but lose four more players for next clash

The Chiefs will be without Anton Lienert-Brown and Damian McKenzie for their clash against the Sharks next week. Photo / Getty Images

Scrappy as it was, the Chiefs got the job done against the Stormers.

Buoyed by a punishing pack, the Hamilton-based club dominated the battle up front in Cape Town on Sunday morning and the 15-9 win was a deserved result. It was also the outcome the Chiefs desperately needed.

Enduring the 30 hour travel factor after a physical loss to the Jaguares, the Chiefs again faced a strong test up front.

Tries through Anton Lienert-Brown and a free seven-pointer awarded from a scrum penalty proved to be the difference in what was a lacklustre affair. Both sides defended well, but the attack throughout the match was nothing to write home about. However, the Chiefs pack was superb throughout the contest, which coach Colin Cooper hoped would add to the self-belief in the team ahead of a meeting with the Sharks in Durban next week.

"There was a lot of Chiefs mana coming through in the way we defended and the way we won that game," Cooper said.

"I certainly hadn't spoken about the Sharks, it's all been Stormers, it's all been disappointment and learning from the Jaguares loss, I think that gave us an edge to win this game."

A shock loss to the Jaguares in Rotorua a week prior did them no favours in the battle for the New Zealand conference, and their already dwindling player stocks are to be further tested next week against the Sharks in Durban.

While Sam Cane (abdominal strain) and Lachlan Boshier (illness) were unable to travel with the team to South Africa, Brodie Retallick, Nathan Harris, Damian McKenzie and Anton Lienert-Brown will return to New Zealand this week for a national camp.

While coach Colin Cooper said after the win over the Stormers that the side hadn't been thinking ahead to the Sharks clash in a week's time, Liam Polwart's late scratching suggested otherwise.

Cooper labelled the match as being "like a game of chess" – a game which more than likely began before the players ran onto the turf at Newlands. Cooper opted to play young Samisoni Taukei'aho in the reserve hooker role – giving him nine minutes of action late in the piece.

"He could have played," Cooper admitted of Polwart's status. "But it's just giving Samisoni an opportunity. Nathan won't be here so it keeps Liam fresh until next week."