Chiefs 28
Stormers 14
The playoff-chasing Chiefs will need to get by on adrenaline when they return from South Africa to face the Hurricanes in a blockbuster encounter in Hamilton on Saturday night.
With 10 vital competition points safely tucked away from a successful three-match African tour - the last five courtesy of yesterday's bonus-point victory over the Stormers in Cape Town - the Chiefs remain firmly on course to snare a semifinal berth.
The skirmishes in Africa may be over, but the Chiefs must now battle travel fatigue and a short turnaround as they prepare for a top-of-the-table clash that will likely determine which side earns a home semifinal - and possibly a home final.
The chips are stacked heavily in the in-form Hurricanes' favour. Having played Friday night against the Blues, the competition front-runners have eight days to prepare.
The Chiefs, by contrast, are expected to arrive back in Hamilton shortly before midnight tonight, and won't convene for their first training session until Wednesday.
While Chiefs coach Ian Foster is factoring in jet lag and the cumulative effect of three tough road games in the space of 14 days, opposite Colin Cooper will be pondering a mixed display against the Blues that ultimately resulted in a second successive resounding victory.
"In some ways you've got to run on adrenaline in these sort of weeks," Foster said. "The Hurricanes played on Friday and probably had a nice weekend away and now have a nice full week to prepare for us. We have a completely different week but you've just got to deal with it."
Foster cut a deeply satisfied figure at the end of the Stormers match and the coach certainly had plenty of reasons to be cheerful. Having failed to win a match on African soil in five years, the Chiefs displayed a new-found solidity and a hitherto unsuspected depth to post victories over the Stormers and Cheetahs and push the Bulls close enough to earn a bonus point.
"We wanted three wins," Foster said. "We got two wins but we have walked away from three games here with 10 points, so we have to be very satisfied with that. It has been a really good tour.
"We targeted this game. We wanted to put in a good performance, hop on that plane and come home with a chance of making the playoffs over the last two weeks - and that's what we've got."
They got it thanks to another bludgeoning effort from the pack, while the rapier was provided by the sublime Richard Kahui.
The centre twice provided the cutting edge to set up tries for halfback Toby Morland and then showed great strength to reach out and plant the ball for the bonus-point score in the closing minutes.
Foster paid tribute to Kahui's ability to carry the team's attack in the absence of strike wingers Sitiveni Sivivatu and Lelia Masaga.
The coach was also glowing in his assessment of Morland and the excellent Liam Messam, who scored a crucial first-half try.
It has been a tough-luck season for the Stormers and that certainly didn't change yesterday, with Springbok fullback Conrad Jantjes suffering a broken leg after 10 minutes and captain Schalk Burger also departing early with a calf injury.
"It looked horrible," Foster said of the injury that left Jantjes screaming in agony after a collision with Messam.
"Obviously they had a number of injuries and to lose Burger was a big blow for them. Whilst we feel for them, it was important we capitalised on it and we did."
Injuries are something the Chiefs are all too familiar with but they should get some good news this week, with Sivivatu and Masaga in line to return after lengthy absences.
Foster was hopeful the deadly duo would be fit to play but he was less certain about halfback Brendon Leonard, who suffered a sternum injury two weeks ago against the Cheetahs.
Their brutal schedule and the irrepressible form of their opponents will almost certainly make the Chiefs underdogs on Saturday night but, having now won eight of their last nine matches to move within sight of a semifinal berth, they won't lack confidence.
"Obviously they have been hitting their straps in recent weeks and been playing great rugby," Foster said of the Hurricanes.
"But we are pretty happy with our form too so it is going to be a nice little local derby."
