King Country held that fleeting dream early in the first half, keeping in touch through 35 minutes until three tries in a five minute spell before the half blew the game open - the best of the bunch being an 80 metre counter-attacking try finished by the electric Jordan Trainor.
Aided by the slippery conditions, King Country provided a committed defensive effort to maintain respectability to the scoreline in the second half, before the visitors again cashed in during the dying minutes to run in three more late tries.
With Waikato's 2016 squad yet to be named, today's clash will have only further enhanced the competition for places, with many of the young backs a chance to crack a team missing departed 2015 regulars Brad Weber (Hawke's Bay) and Joe Webber and Regan Ware (Bay of Plenty).
Impressive players like Trainor are set to battle with the experience of Isaac Boss, Stephen Donald and Willis Halaholo, while Chiefs regulars Damian McKenzie, Shaun Stevenson and Anton Leinert-Brown are likely to form part of what should be a free-running unit.
That young talent will need to contribute in the upcoming season for the two-time champions, who have been consistent without shining over the past four years, failing to make the first division semifinals, yet avoiding the drop to division two.
Finishes of fifth, fifth, sixth and sixth have been fair reflections of a side that have often delighted with an attacking brand of rugby, yet haven't reached the level of a title threat.
Whether defending the Shield can spur them on to greater results will be discovered soon, as the Log of Wood goes on the line once more against Wanganui next Saturday, before North Harbour visit in late August for the first regular season defence.
Waikato 55 (Alainu'uese, Faiva (2), Trainor, Iti, Reece, Lansdown, Taufui tries; Trainor six cons, pen)
King Country 0
Halftime: 29-0
