KEY POINTS:
Chiefs 32
Reds 20
Sometimes silence speaks volumes.
The Chiefs' changing room was a desolate place after Saturday night's victory over the Reds. There was little in the way of celebration for what was a franchise-record fifth-straight win.
The Chiefs knew they had not only come close to
blowing a 21-point lead against a side that has just one win on New Zealand soil this millennium, they had also let their standards slip a long way from the previous week's rousing display against the Crusaders.
After a sublime opening 10 minutes in which they controlled the ball superbly and raced to a 14-0 lead, the Chiefs fell away and the concession of three tries in 10 minutes after halftime meant they had to scrap their way to a patchy bonus-point win.
Captain Mils Muliaina described the scene in the changing room.
"There was a lot of silence," he said. "It was as if we lost. There were a few disappointed guys there but we have got to be happy because we toughed it out."
Coach Ian Foster took the same line, saying his players were subdued but should also be pleased after rounding out their home campaign with a six-win one-loss record to set up a run at the play-offs on a three-match tour that will take in Perth, Johannesburg and Durban.
"I think it was because we didn't quite play the game we wanted to play," Foster said of the downbeat post-match reaction.
"I think there's an excitement about how we are playing rather than the result. It is nice that the guys are really trying to play a game that suits us. The next three weeks are a chance to go out and keep doing that. It's exciting to be in the hunt."
An early try to Stephen Donald - another chip-and-chase special - and a brace of blistering finishes from wing Lelia Masaga saw the Chiefs coasting 24-3 at the break.
But the Reds had been consistently getting behind them on the fringes and after the restart the visitors began converting their chances. Deceptive centre Morgan Turinui crossed twice and replacement wing Digby Ioane also scored as the Chiefs' scrambling defence unravelled.
A Donald penalty stopped the rot and the Chiefs blew several chances to finish the Reds before Sione Lauaki finally got the job done with an intercept try.
"We got the result we wanted and we'll move on from that," Foster said.
"It probably wasn't the best performance we've put out on the park. But in some ways it is quite nice to walk away from a game like that with some pretty obvious areas we are going to have to get better at.
"We showed a lot of guts. Defensively we weren't as accurate as we needed to be but we scrambled really, really well and showed a lot of composure and ticker in that last 20 minutes to get the job done."
Regular captain Jono Gibbes could be among the touring squad of 26 that leaves on Wednesday as his rehabilitation progressed with 60 minutes of club rugby on Saturday.
Prop Simms Davison and halfback Brendon Leonard, who sat out the Reds match with niggling injuries, will also boost the side.
Saturday's win puts the Chiefs fourth with all teams now having had a bye.
With the Hurricanes and Stormers both just a point back and the Blues and Brumbies still in mathematical contention, the Chiefs might need to win all three of their remaining matches to book a play-off spot.
Foster said he hadn't spent too much time considering the various permutations but was instead looking forward to taking his team on tour.
"This team is getting pretty tight and getting on the road can be a real positive. We have got to use that, spend some time together and have a bit of fun. We need to freshen this team up and enjoy a slightly different challenge.
"We have played our way into a position where we have got a chance.
"But there were some pretty clear warning bells [against the Reds]. We can't go to sleep. We got what we wanted and had a few good moments but there were a few wake-up calls."