Lauaki has learnt it's all about hard work

Powerful Chiefs forward Sione Lauaki admits he has had to learn there is more to rugby at Super 12 level than running with the ball.

With the Chiefs only getting about 30 per cent possession on Saturday night against his old Auckland teammates in the Blues, Lauaki was forced to show he can also do the hard work on defence.

The blindside flanker's response was a massive 21 tackles within a team tally of about 270.

He was still very sore at training yesterday after that effort and said most of his teammates had also felt the after-effects of such a mammoth defensive effort.

"Looking at the stats I think that's the most tackles I've done -- 21. I didn't think it was that high.

"But I was just happy to get a start and to get my first start against Auckland was a bit of a buzz .....," the former Aucklander, who has transferred to Waikato, said.

Lauaki said fitness had not been a problem, despite some leg cramps towards the end, and he was thrilled to play the entire 80 minutes.

"Coming off the bench you're lucky if you get 20-25 minutes but being there from the start and lasting the whole game is a special thing. I certainly find it easier starting but whatever is good for the team, I don't mind."

While the lift in spirits from that first victory of the season was obvious at yesterday's open training run, Lauaki said the players knew they had another challenge this week against the Reds on Friday night.

"We'll take the win but we also know we've got a lot more games to go."

The Chiefs knew exactly how the Reds would be feeling after their bad start to the season and how determined they would be to pick up their first win at Waikato Stadium.

"We just can't afford to be complacent. We've got to be ready for them."

The Chiefs would also like to get more ball in their hands and get their attack going after making tackle after tackle against the Blues, he said.

"But that's just rugby. Sometimes you get the ball and sometimes you don't. You've got to use it when you have it and when you don't you've got to tackle."

The strong team spirit within the Chiefs had come out in that defensive display last week when communication was paramount.

"We're just talking to each other and encouraging each other to keep going all the time. We're a really close team on the field and that shows when one guy makes a big tackle, someone else does another one."

While Lauaki would like to get more ball to run with, he is already finding that he is no longer an unknown player taking opposition teams by surprise like he often did last season.

"A lot of teams now know what I can do with the ball and stuff but in saying that I've got to work on other areas of my game like defence.

"Super 12 is a hard level of rugby and you can't just rely on your running to take you places. I used to but I've found you've also got to do the hard work."

- NZPA