KEY POINTS:
When Chiefs prop Simms Davison hangs up his boots he might consider a career in anger management counselling, or maybe life coaching.
The 110kg prop seems utterly unaffected by the clouds of discontent that have hovered over Waikato Stadium this season as the team has struggled to meet
expectations.
Talking to Davison, there's no sense of the doom and gloom one might expect from a player whose team has suffered relentless criticism from the season's opening whistle.
Two major themes come through when the 48-game veteran speaks about last week's form reversal against the Bulls, when the Chiefs finally found their mojo to run in six tries in a 43-27 victory.
Firstly, six games into the Super 14 and - despite a revolving door selection policy forced on coach Ian Foster by injuries - the team is finally feeling settled. For want of a better expression, the Chiefs are in their happy place.
"That game last weekend was something to really build on," Davison enthuses. "It was by far our best performance of the season. It was a lot more settled."
It was too, with some of the harum-scarum play that blighted their first five matches replaced by a more clinical approach. The cause of new-found contentment, Davison says, is trust. "We knew our jobs and trusted each other - that was the key, that trust."
Heading into round seven, the Chiefs have just one fewer win on the board than the Blues and the Hurricanes, a remarkable fact considering the level of flak aimed at the franchise.
The ever-unruffled Davison just sighs and says the criticism is simply par for course. "Unfortunately, it's nothing new for the Chiefs, we always get that at the start of the season. It has been the same for the last few years.
"Our starts haven't been that flash. But we have always had confidence, we always knew once we jelled we could get things right and then we are bloody hard to beat."
The Chiefs forward pack has been the main target of many critics, which Davison reluctantly concedes is "fair".
"We've scrummed all right, but as far as our skill accuracy and our clean-outs: we have obviously been dominated. And haven't been able to get that next phase ball quickly.
"You start with the basics. If you can get that ball carrier going forward it makes it a lot easier for everyone."
Cutting down on handling errors proved the key to the pack finally getting its act together at the breakdown, he said. "We had been making a lot of mistakes, our skill levels had been poor and we just hadn't been able to hit on to that front-foot ball. "
With the winless Highlanders to visit Hamilton tonight, followed by a trip to Canberra to face the Brumbies (not the challenge it once was), the Chiefs have a chance to build momentum before a bye in week nine.
Unsurprisingly, Davison is pretty happy with where the team is at.
"As far as I'm concerned we are still sitting in a real good spot. We've had six games and we've won three and lost three. There are plenty more games. There is a really settled feeling in the team now and I think we are just going to go on from here."
The Highlanders will be sure to put that positivity to the test tonight.
