Rugby: Chiefs soar to new heights

Wian du Preez and Wayne van Heerden of the Cheetahs tackle Hika Elliot. Photo / Getty Images

Are the Chiefs the real deal? Yesterday's victory over the Cheetahs suggests they just might be. Kimberley, the scene of the Chiefs' latest victory - a franchise-record sixth in a row - is most famous for its giant hole. The world's largest diamond mine, Kimberley's gaping void is actually rather impressive. Certainly it is big enough to swallow up a Chiefs side due to mount their customary late-season collapse.

With strike wingers Sitiveni Sivivatu and Lelia Masaga crocked and the Cheetahs running into form nicely with a win over the formidable Sharks last week, all the ingredients for a Chiefs meltdown seemed to be there.

Yet it didn't happen. It might be too early for the Hamilton City Council to be checking their tickertape stocks, but there was an unmistakable air of solidity about the Chiefs, who top the Super 14 table with just four rounds remaining.

There's still time for their traditional Lay Down Sally impersonation, but with lineout and scrum now functioning, the three defeats with which they opened the season seem more like the aberration than this winning run.

The Chiefs may be soaring to new heights but they - and the rest of the competition's title hopefuls - will be looking down at the Crusaders with just an ounce of trepidation.

The defending champions have scratched and clawed their way to four straight victories, all by four points or less. They are just three points out of fourth and have the easiest run in, facing the bottom three teams in succession before ending their regular season at Eden Park against the Blues.

With the Blues and Hurricanes also posting vital wins at the weekend, four of the eight teams still in semifinal contention are from these shores. Suddenly the state of New Zealand rugby doesn't look so bleak.