KEY POINTS:
Don't start making plans to attend the Chiefs' Super 14 victory parade just yet.
The franchise may be a rare feel-good story in somewhat depressing rugby times, but they are yet to prove there is substance to their resurgence.
The next eight days will go a long way
to revealing whether the Chiefs' record five-match winning run has been the genesis of a potentially title-winning momentum or whether they have simply erected a house of cards .
For some reason, the Chiefs emanate an aura of fragility. No matter how brilliantly they play or how many impressive wins they rack up, it's hard to escape the feeling they are only one serious injury away from retreading their steps from the penthouse to the outhouse.
A hangover from their early season form, when the injury-enforced absence of midfield defensive linchpin Richard Kahui was frequently exposed, has plenty to do with the question marks that still linger. The three tries the creatively bereft Reds ran in in the space of 10 minutes last Saturday underlined those concerns in triplicate.
There are enough reasons to doubt the Chiefs.
For starters, they have benefited from the kindest draw in the competition. A tough first three weeks against the Blues, Waratahs and Hurricanes brought them quickly up to speed. They then had six home games split only by a trip to Canberra and a bye which gave them two weeks to prepare for the Crusaders.
Compare that to the Sharks, who in recent weeks have visited the Hurricanes, Highlanders, Brumbies and Waratahs and tonight the Crusaders.
Before their morale-boosting home stand, the Chiefs visited the Blues and Hurricanes and were smashed out of sight. Heading into round 12, they have played just three away games all season, winning just the once, in Canberra.
Their chance to erase the doubts is coming, firstly tomorrow night against the Force in Perth and then against the Lions and Sharks in South Africa.
The likes of free-scoring winger Lelia Masaga can expect a stern examination. Masaga, whose NZRU contract extension this week attracted almost as much fanfare as Ronaldo and his room full of trannies, has already shown he is among the best finishers in the competition.
Defensively, however, he can be a bit of a turnstile. Strapping Stormers wing Sireli Naqelevuki had little trouble going over or around him at will.
Other Chiefs backs, such as Dwayne Sweeney and Callum Bruce, have also been exposed defensively.
Then there is the absence of injured All Blacks halfback Brendon Leonard. The nuggety Leonard, who goes by the nickname Chris Harris, adds a muscular presence around the fringes frees up space for the likes of Masaga, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Mils Muliaina.
Jamie Nutbrown is an able replacement, but he is no Chris Harris. Without Leonard, the Chiefs lack an important dimension.
If they can keep their winning run going without him - on foreign fields at that - they will have answered a lot of questions.
