Stormers 14 Chiefs 28
Home beckons for the Chiefs, who ended a successful Super 14 rugby foray to South Africa with a 28-14 defeat of the Stormers in Cape Town this morning (NZT) to climb into second place.
An emphatic win at Newlands was capped by a bonus point fourth try by centre Richard
Kahui with three minutes remaining which lifts them past the Bulls on points differential and sets up a high-stakes match against the competition-leading Hurricanes at Waikato Stadium on Saturday.
Wins over the Cheetahs and Stormers and a narrow loss to the third-placed Bulls last week represents a good return for coach Ian Foster's men in the republic.
Today's display against an injury-ravaged Stormers was the best of them, with halfback Toby Morland grabbing two tries as the halftime score of 14-7 was doubled by game's end.
A notable change of complexion came over the match after 20 minutes as the Chiefs shed their poor handling and concentrated on retaining possession through smart work at the tackle and superior option-taking.
The Stormers were set back when they lost two Springboks to injury in the first half - fullback Conrad Jantjes and flanker Schalk Burger.
Jantjes was stretchered off with what appeared to be a broken leg in the ninth minute resulting in a lengthy delay.
At the heart of the Chiefs' win were further powerful showings from loose forwards Liam Messam and Sione Lauaki.
Messam was involved in everything, scoring their opening try and leading a staunch defensive line, while Lauaki proved to be a handful for the Sharks defenders.
Kahui was class personified while first five-eighth Stephen Donald was also incisive, perhaps buoyed by comments midweek from All Blacks coach Graham Henry that the national No 10 jersey is effectively his in June.
Donald's presence was important in the opening minutes as he bundled Stormers halfback Dewaldt Duvenage into touch when a certain try loomed.
However, the hosts' early dominance was finally rewarded in the 16th minute when first five-eighth Willem de Waal sliced through a small opening.
The Chiefs snatched control soon afterwards through some solid set piece work and control at the breakdown.
It led to Messam's try from a tidy Donald offload and they hit the front just before halftime when Kahui burst clear near halfway and found Morland, who was efficient all game in place of the injured Brendon Leonard.
Messam could have extended the lead in the 52nd minute but the dropped the ball in a double tackle while trying to ground it.
They went painfully close again 10min later when a Messam pass put captain Mils Muliaina over the tryline but the All Blacks fullback was held up.
The breakthrough finally came with 15min remaining, when Kahui and Morland reprised their offloader-tryscorer combination after Lauaki had made headway.
Kahui's muscular late try - he carried three tacklers over the line - brought jubilation in the Chiefs ranks although the hosts had the final say through a consolation try to winger Sireli Naqelevuki.
Chiefs 28 (Toby Morland 2, Liam Messam, Richard Kahui tries; Stephen Donald 3 con, Mike Delany con) Stormers 14 (Willem de Waal, Sireli Naqelevuki tries; de Waal con, Peter Grant con). Halftime: 14-7.
- NZPA