Highlanders 31 Chiefs 24
All Black pin-up Richard Kahui will probably wake up sore this morning but he will have no complaints.
The strapping centre yesterday played his first game of rugby since the Chiefs were beaten by the Bulls in last year's Super 14 final and he is confident his shoulder problems are
behind him.
Kahui, 24, who has played eight tests for the All Blacks, made his comeback against the Highlanders in Dunedin and, while he played conservatively, the old skills were still evident.
"You still get pain but that's normal," Kahui said. "There's nothing like a game and that's what I've been hanging out for."
The shoulder injury troubled him for most of last year's Super 14 and he had surgery on June 9.
"It's been a long time," Kahui reflected. "I was pretty nervous about today, to be honest. I was excited to be playing again but I was a bit apprehensive. I felt a bit more comfortable after I had made the first two tackles and had a couple of runs. I've come out of the game feeling pretty comfortable about my shoulder so hopefully that's the end of the injury saga."
Kahui spent his layoff adding some muscle to his frame and now weighs 102kg.
"I'm still not as sharp as I should be but another three weeks of speed and power training should have me in good shape for the season."
It was also a big day yesterday for blockbusting No 8 Sione Lauaki, who captained the Chiefs for the first time in the absence of Mils Muliaina. He has been granted leave until the fourth round of Super 14. Lauaki limped off at halftime with a knee strain, at which stage the Chiefs led 19-10.
"It felt a bit strange to be running in front of all the others for the first time," he said.
"I felt pretty good. The knee is just a tweak, I think, and I should be right to play against the Blues next week.
"We've clearly got a lot to work on. We started well but we lost patience towards the end of the second spell."
Young fullback Tim Nanai-Williams was one of the Chiefs' stars with his elusive running. In the absence of Muliaina and Sosene Anesi, who has transferred to the Waratahs, Nanai-Williams staked a strong claim for the No 15 jersey for the early rounds of the Super 14.
The Chiefs seemed to have the match under control when they led 19-5 and 25-10 but the Highlanders rallied in the last quarter with two converted tries.
Captain Jamie Mackintosh, who barrelled over for one of the five tries, was buoyed by the performance and had special praise for new winger James Paterson and rookie Southland flanker John Hardie.
Halfback Sean Romans scored the match-winner for the Highlanders 12 minutes from the end after Paterson scythed through the defence.
Highlanders 31 (B. Murray, J. Hardie, J. Paterson, J. Mackintosh, S. Romans tries, Matt Berquist 3 cons) Chiefs 24 (A. de Malmanche, H. Forbes, J. Hona, T. Nanai-Williams tries, T. Renata 2 cons). Halftime: 10-19.