Rugby: SBW and Kahui ready to play the beautiful game

Richard Kahui. Photo / Getty Images

There was a theory put forward by somebody more qualified to judge, that Sonny Bill Williams and Richard Kahui make up the most beautiful midfield pairing in rugby's long history.

It's a bold claim, but not one easily rejected.

Jeremy Guscott and Will Carling had fans in high places, while Phillippe Sella and Denis Charvet had a certain je ne sais quoi and dressed with more style ... but we digress.

Kahui and Williams have been paired together for the Chiefs' opener against the Highlanders in Hamilton tomorrow night and no aspect of the match or, from a New Zealand perspective, the Super 15 season is as highly anticipated as how this combination will work.

It reads like a sure-fire winner. Williams' offloading skills allied to Kahui's speed and smarts. They're both feared defenders, although Williams has technical frailties in this area that can be exploited.

There's no reason why the combination shouldn't be eye-catching for all the right reasons, but you never know. Sometimes combinations that sound great in theory don't work in practice.

There was a similar sense of anticipation ahead of the All Blacks opening test against England on the Grand Slam-winning tour in 2010. On that occasion it was Ma'a Nonu at second five-eighths and Williams at centre. The prevailing thought was that England would have no answer to the twin line-breaking threat.

Williams played quite well, particularly in the first half, but Nonu appeared emasculated by the part-time boxer's presence and was a shadow of the player he could be. It's a salutary lesson that even the most attractive propositions do not always work.

To fall back on the oldest of rugby cliches, the GQ-cover centre pairing is unlikely to be the major factor in the Chiefs success or otherwise.

Of more concern to coach Dave Rennie will be whether his forwards can deliver his superstars quality set-piece and quick phase ball.

This will be the key question until the Chiefs can prove that their tight five is better than it appears on paper.

"It's important we get quality ball up front and get the opportunity to launch those guys," Rennie said.

Rennie clearly has talent to burn in the backs and loose forwards, but outside of Hika Elliot - who was desperately unlucky to miss Graham Henry's World Cup squad - the charms of the tight five are not immediately obvious.

Former Chiefs lock Ian Jones believes the side's tight five need to play with the mentality that they are not there to hold their own, but to dominate.

The power of positive thinking can cover up the odd crack, but whether they have the ability to play with that type of fierce abandon for 16 weeks remains to be seen.

If they can, and if Kahui and Williams provide the expected game-breaking ability, the Chiefs really might become a thing of beauty.