Rugby: Composed Chiefs notch season's first win

Chiefs captain Liam Messam looks to beat a Force player. Photo / Getty Images.

The Chiefs finally kick-started their Super 14 rugby campaign with a 31-13 win over the Western Force at Hamilton's Waikato Stadium tonight.

Ahead 21-6 at halftime, the Chiefs cut down on the early errors of the first spell and maintained composure in the face of some intense pressure to secure their first win of the competition.

The return of centre Richard Kahui after two weeks off with a hip injury gave the Chiefs more structure on attack and the benefits were almost immediate.

Right from the first whistle, the Chiefs played with real intent, and were rewarded early after a long Callum Bruce pass found Richard Kahui, who linked with pacey winger Lelia Masaga.

Masaga's pure speed, coupled with some deft footwork and a devastating fend, saw him dot down under the posts after barely two minutes.

Stephen Donald converted and the Chiefs were in unfamiliar territory, 7-0 up and looking strong.

Two Force penalties narrowed the gap, with the second - a 45 metre effort by winger Cameron Shepherd - particularly impressive. With the Chiefs error rate still too high, the Australians looked threatening.

However, the Chiefs weathered the storm and regrouped, captain Liam Messam leading the way with 10 minutes until halftime when he broke through in the midfield, laid the ball back for Donald who found halfback Brendon Leonard on the burst to score under the posts.

Five minutes later the Chiefs extended their lead. Kahui broke through some poor Force defence, linked with winger Sitiveni Sivivatu then took the return pass on the inside to cross for the try and give the Chiefs an impressive halftime lead.

The Force came back strongly in the second spell, their defence holding firm and first five-eighth Matt Giteau orchestrating some telling backline forays.

They closed the gap to 21-13 in the 55th minute when the Chiefs spilled Josh Valentine's up and under and flanker Tamaiti Horua scooped up the loose ball to run 20m and score the visitors' first try.

A long-range penalty from Donald three minutes later gave the Chiefs some breathing room, after fullback Sosene Anesi was taken in the air by centre Ryan Cross. Anesi later left the field midway with an injury to his right shoulder.

The Chiefs kept attacking, getting numbers to the breakdown and put the Force under all sorts of pressure in the hectic closing minutes.

They finally got the bonus point - and the third match official decision that they'd missed so often recently - when Colin Bourke was given the nod in injury time after crashing over from a quick tap five metres out.

- NZPA