Editorial: Stuff of staunch champs on show

I've been a lifelong Chiefs fan - or I would have been had I been born in 1996.

The first time the Chiefs made the semifinals of the Super Rugby competition, in 2004, they were beaten into fourth place by ultimate champions the Brumbies.

That was the last time before this season that the Australian side made the top four, and at the weekend they would have had their eyes on their third championship.

With quarter of an hour to go in Saturday night's final they had 10 points on the Chiefs and the finish line in sight.

In 17 previous seasons Australian sides have only triumphed three times - a fourth was looking likely.

But Rotorua's Liam Messam had other ideas. (Unless the Steamers are playing Waikato, we'll claim him).

His 67th minute try, bursting over the line off the back of the scrum, exemplified the home side's steely resolve and ability to step up for finals football, and laid the foundation for a stunning fightback and victory.

It's easy to say in hindsight, and blasphemy at the height of the action, but the best games are the close ones, where it could go either way, a fine line separating crushing defeat and extreme jubilation. The last eight minutes of the game, during which the Chiefs held a slim, catchable five-point lead, were excruciating and exhilarating, and the siren couldn't come soon enough.

To emerge victorious from such heated battle is the stuff of true champions.

Last year was no one-off. The Chiefs are New Zealand's supreme Super Rugby side. They've made the final in three of the past five seasons - the Crusaders appeared in just one, and lost.

The red and blacks may have a better long-term record - with seven titles - but beating that's just another challenge our lads will meet given time.

And their time has come.