KEY POINTS:
All of a sudden the outlook isn't so bleak for the Chiefs.
Having earned their first bonus-point victory of the season in a six-try demolition of the Bulls last weekend, they have welcomed back backline linchpin Richard Kahui and key strike weapon Sitiveni Sivivatu for tomorrow night's visit by the Highlanders.
Kahui returns at centre, with Dwayne Sweeney dropping to the bench, while Sivivatu replaces Viliame Waqeseduadua on the wing.
Coach Ian Foster has named an unchanged forward pack, which he expects to be put through the wringer by the desperate, winless Highlanders.#"While we have been patting ourselves on the back and everyone else has [after beating the Bulls], I think we are going to face a sterner test [tomorrow night]," Foster said. "It is going to be a real stake in the ground for us as to the exact level we are at, particularly up front."
Foster said he was tempted to stick with the same backline that cut apart the Bulls. However, bringing back class performers such as Sivivatu and Kahui, who have both recovered from ankle strains, was a no-brainer.
A win tomorrow would see the Chiefs positioned nicely for a run at the playoffs and Foster believes lessons learned over the first six rounds should hold his team in good stead over the rest of the campaign.#"We have had to go through some pretty tough lessons and sometimes that is an advantage at this stage of the season. You look at some other teams that start really strongly and then start to get the wobbles and it can be hard to figure out why, whereas we have gone through a bit of adversity at the start of this campaign.
"We have had bucket-loads of injuries, we haven't played quite to our level and some individuals' skill level has been down a bit. But, overall, where we are at now is a positive position.
"We have gone through the tough times and now the challenge is to keep on building."
It's not drawing too long a bow to suggest that the neighbouring Blues are the team getting the wobbles.
With the Aucklanders having won just one more game than the Chiefs - and that courtesy of a last-minute penalty against the Stormers on Saturday - Foster has been left a touch bemused by the comparative levels of criticism levelled at the two franchises.
"There was a sense of irony that there was a lot of [coverage] last week about how the Blues would cope without Nick Evans and perhaps the same courtesy wasn't given to the Chiefs when we had a number of key players out of our starting line-up.
"But I think the squad has handled it really, really well. The advantage of the situation we are in now is that some of these guys coming back from injury aren't exactly overdone.
"They are feeling fresh and enthusiastic and that is a positive for us going into these next seven games.
"Some other teams, if they have been relying on a certain group and they start to crack then often the cards may all [tumble] from there."
