Wet Chiefs weather light Storm

Chiefs 30 Stormers 20

These Chiefs sure do like a drama. A draw last week, a three-point win the week before, a two-point loss before that and then last night an evening of sustained torture for those clad in black and gold.

It came uncomfortably close to ending in agony and perhaps would have if Stormers dead-eye Naas Olivier had been around for the last 10 minutes. At 23-20 down with 10 minutes on the clock the Stormers could sniff an unlikely win. But, awarded a penalty in front of the posts, replacement Peter Grant took a bad case of the yips and tugged the easy shot left of the upright.

As the ball sailed wide, it took with it the last remaining hope of a side who, to be fair, were only in with a shout due to the Chiefs' incompetence.

The late try to Anthony Tahana, from a slick kick from Stephen Donald, might delude some into thinking this wasn't close. But it was. It was white-knuckle-close, largely because the Chiefs bumbled and fumbled and looked a pale shadow of the side that had the Crusaders on the ropes not so long ago.

Between dropped passes and crazy option-taking, they found the time to gift first Jean de Villiers, then Tonderai Chavanga soft tries to keep the Stormers in front until Donald's penalty in the 70th minute.

What made the Chiefs' pain so acute was that this was a game they would have seen as a certain four, if not five points. So far this campaign, the Stormers' moniker has been a patent misnomer. They could barely get the tea lapping the edge of the cup.

A side with serious playoff aspirations such as the Chiefs should have had the men from Cape Town safely packed up and put away in time to give the bench a 20-minute gallop. Instead, it was horribly close and a serious toil for the home side.

Toiling may actually be underplaying just how much hard work the Chiefs made of this. Take out the excellent Niva Taauso, who managed, despite the fact nature has parked a barrel where his chest should be, to constantly break the line and get in behind the Stormers and there isn't much else to be nice about.

Stephen Donald, after a shaky first half where he was laboured in his decision-making, became more authoritative and dominant as the game went on, although he still has a remarkable penchant for having his kicks charged down.

His bad night at the office last week appeared to be long-forgotten as well, as the goal-kicks he sank in the second half were far from easy.

He also started to see the space behind the Stormers' back three and got the ball in behind them with some raking punts.

But it didn't really lead to much because the forwards looked as if the Easter Bunny had given the pre-match pep talk. The aggression and dynamism we have come to expect from a pack full of die-hard workhorses was strangely missing.

It was going-through-the-motions stuff. No one really seemed to want to be the hero, not even Jono Gibbes. In the end it fell to Anthony Tahana to get on the end of a couple of slick moves to secure the win.

This habit of going to the wire is one the Chiefs surely want to kick. It's no good for the ticker and, seriously, check out coach Ian Foster's hairline.

If it keeps racing back at its current pace, the poor chap's going to have to think about adopting a comb-over.

And it's no wonder, after taking the Chiefs to their first semifinal in his rookie year, Foster has presided over two campaigns littered with 'what ifs'.

Last year they stormed up late on the rails only to miss out by a whisker - which left them cursing a truly awful loss to the Reds in round three.

This year is even worse. They had the Crusaders on the ropes but couldn't land the sucker blow.

The Brumbies were dead and buried until Stirling Mortlock pulled a rabbit out of the hat and then there was the utterly unsatisfying draw with the Bulls last week.

They could yet make it to the playoffs but it's getting hard to shake the feeling those missed opportunities will once again be haunting them when all is said and done.

Chiefs 30 (N. Latu, A. Tahana (2) tries; S. Donald 3 cons, 3 pens).
Stormers 20 (J. de Villiers, T. Chavanga tries; N. Olivier 2 cons, 2 pens).