CHIEFS 43
BULLS 27
KEY POINTS:
Convincing. It's a word that hasn't been associated with the Chiefs so far this season.
But Saturday night's victory over the defending champion Bulls was just that - convincing. Despite digging themselves their now customary early hole thanks to another shoddy opening, the Chiefs were comfortable winners.
The result levelled their season record at three wins and three losses, and the four tries they scored earned them their first bonus point of the season. If they can overcome the winless Highlanders in Hamilton this Saturday night, they'll head into the second half of the season, if not exactly nicely placed, then at least not out of contention.
The same can't be said of the Bulls, a team of big reputation players with a seemingly limited aerobic capacity. The tourists faded badly after a promising start.
"It makes it very tough for us but we just have to take it on the chin and look forward to next week," captain Fourie du Preez said of his side's second straight 40-point drubbing.
Du Preez, rated by some as the best halfback in the world, took a few metaphorical shots on the chin himself as he was overshadowed by livewire All Blacks counterpart Brendon Leonard.
The match looked to be going badly for the Chiefs when Bulls second five-eighths Wynard Olivier carved up their patched together backline for the game's first try. But, as they have done in all three of their victories this season, the Chiefs upped the ante shortly before halftime.
Sione Lauaki, a much-maligned figure this season, produced a sublime piece of skill to give the Chiefs the lead at the break. His chip, regather and pass sent Leonard racing away to score and the Chiefs never looked back.
Dubbed the Human Wrecking-Ball for his impressive line-breaking ability, the less than svelte Lauaki has been in serious danger of being re-named the Human Beach Ball. But, after a campaign of indifference, the big No 8 seems to be coming out of his shell.
He would have been aided by the most impressive display of the season by the Chiefs tight five, who held their own in the scrums and were solid at lineout time, and a two-game layoff to concentrate on some intensive fitness tapering didn't seem to have done him any harm.
The Chiefs killed the game off with a withering burst at the start of the second half. Callum Bruce, Dwayne Sweeney and Lelia Masaga all added tries to go with Leonard's second. The Bulls earned a touch of respectability with tries to Akona Ndungane and Deon Stegmann before Liam Messam finished it off with a close-range effort.
"We went away during the week, looked at our game and changed a few things," captain Mills Muliaina said.
"The tight five really set it up for us at the back. Our set piece improved a lot on recent weeks and we showed what we can do with good set pieces."
