Rugby: Chiefs smash sorry Sunwolves

Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs scores a try against the Sunwolves. Photo / Getty Images

Plenty of tries, plenty of entertainment, plenty of loose moments and five points for the Chiefs – their visit to Japan delivered exactly what was expected.

The other big bonus for the Chiefs was they appeared to come away with no obvious casualties so they ticked the two boxes of a bonus point victory and a clean bill of health.

But that doesn't mean their mission was a screaming success. The Chiefs will feel they came away with more negatives than positives. They scored some memorable tries where they were slick, creative and clinical and they kept their foot on the gas through to the final minute.

But they had more, less memorable moments. Some of their ball retention was poor. Some of their passing was loose and some of their decision making was inaccurate.

Probably of most concern was their defence which was sloppy throughout. The wider the Sunwolves went the more metres they ate up and that was because there was a lot of soft tackling near the touchlines.

As it happened: Chiefs batter Sunwolves

The Sunwolves have to be acknowledged for the way they moved the ball and the shape that they held, but they wouldn't have had any near as much success if the Chiefs' tackling had been firmer.

And that's the problem with having the Sunwolves in this competition – they kind of drag everyone down to their level.

They were not without their qualities. They played at pace and with ample heart and there were little moments of extreme skill.

But they don't have the quality across the field or the ability to apply enough pressure to make things feel like they are for real.

So the Chiefs can't be entirely sure what they got out of the encounter beyond the five points, and for some of their squad, a first experience of Tokyo.

They will have clocked some air miles and the jet lag that comes with it and maybe, having scored 60-plus points, they will have built a bit of confidence. Maybe, because they know that the Sunwolves aren't at the same level as the other teams they have to face in the coming weeks.

On an individual front they will have learned that Tyler Ardron is a useful acquisition to their squad. The Canadian international looks to be a natural athlete with a bit of mongrel.

He was comfortable running with the ball and taking his lineout ball and with a fair bit of size, he'll probably still be contributing when the weather turns in winter.

Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi had a useful 70-odd minutes at halfback. He's a pass and run player and cleared the ball with the sort of speed that both the Chiefs and All Blacks are looking for.

As for Damian McKenzie, he was his usual mix of brilliant slightly erratic. The Sunwolves weren't good enough to punish his wilder moments and they were certainly not good enough to shut down his best plays.

He kicked more than he has in recent weeks, but frustratingly, he didn't have a great handle on when and where to boot it. He won't have been impressed with himself either that he opened the game by kicking the ball out on the full and the worry for everyone is that his error count doesn't seem to be trending downwards.

Chiefs 61 (T. Ardron, B. Retallick, N. Harris, S. Alaimalo (2), D. McKenzie (2), L. Polwart, S. Wainui tries; D. McKenzie 8 cons)
Sunwolves 10 (S. Maiswera. H. Saumaki tries)