Rugby: Chiefs recover from first half battering to run Stormers ragged

Brad Weber of the Chiefs was in the action for the full 80 minutes. Picture / Getty Images

Some teams would wilt in the face of a formidable Stormers defence that appeared determined to dominate the collision from the outset.

The Chiefs, though, adjusted and found a way to avoid such physicality to capture a three-try victory in Cape Town and pull level with the Hurricanes atop the New Zealand conference.

Having been hit hard, fast and early, the Chiefs' attack could have been left dazed and destined to repeat their insipid performance from last weekend's loss to the Highlanders. Instead, they turned in arguably their best attacking display of the season, racking up 549 metres and beating 28 defenders through a combination of quick hands, offloads and outstanding support play.

And all that panache, according to coach Dave Rennie, was inspired by the punishment they received in the opening quarter.

"It was brutal - there were just some massive collisions," Rennie said. "Our boys worked out pretty quickly that if they didn't use footwork it was going to hurt."

All four new faces in the backline played their part in running the Stormers ragged, with Tim Nanai-Williams (158 metres and eight defenders beaten) especially excelling in his first start. Damian McKenzie looked a livewire at fullback, Bryce Heem saved a try at one end and set one up at the other, while Brad Weber zipped the ball about for the full 80 minutes.

But perhaps the most impressive aspect of the attacking outburst was the fact it arrived without anything resembling a solid base. After being such a strength in the loss to the Highlanders, the Chiefs' scrum was consistently steamrolled during a torrid first half.

Improvements were made in the second spell and parity was almost restored but, with the Sharks also imposing at the set piece, those improvements will have to continue throughout the week.

"[Last week] we dominated in that area and got two penalty tries from it, but lost," Rennie said. "This week our scrum was under pressure until late in the game, but we won.

"Obviously it's an area of the game we'll have a bit of a look at and try to be better next week against the Sharks."

Aside from the scrum, the only other concern to emerge from the match was a potential injury problem in midfield. It would be a shame, given the fluid way the whole backline linked, but both Nanai-Williams and Sonny Bill Williams could potentially miss next weekend's encounter with the Sharks with injuries.

Whichever combination is called upon, Rennie knows his charges must avoid what happened the last time they put together a rampant attacking effort, when the 40-point romp over the Crusaders was soon followed by a limp outing against the Highlanders.

"The win was massive for us ... We're pretty happy for that but it'll count for little if we don't back up."