KEY POINTS:
The Chiefs won't be out to do anyone any favours when they take on the Sharks in the Super 14's final round robin match on Sunday.
Whether the Chiefs' slim semifinal hopes are still alive heading into the match will be determined by earlier results but, even if they are out of the playoff race, they will still have a chance to play king-maker.
At the very least, the Sharks will head into the match with fourth place in their sights.
A Chiefs win would preserve the position of whichever team sits nervously in that fourth spot.
But the thought of winning to help put a New Zealand team such as the Blues or Hurricanes into the semis doesn't do much for the Chiefs.
"Umm ... if I'm brutally honest probably not," playmaker Stephen Donald said when asked if the prospect of helping his countrymen would be a motivating factor.
Donald made doing the Blues a favour sound about as appealing as a late night stroll around Hamilton but he insisted the Chiefs would be out to win and play well. They would, however, be doing it for themselves.
"There is no denying the last two weeks we've let ourselves down and [undone] a lot of the good work we did in New Zealand. But there are plenty of reasons for us to be up this week."
Donald seemed to be clinging to hope more than reality when he said he still felt the match could be a "pretty special night" for the Chiefs.
He said there would be no cavalier approach regardless of the scenario facing the team.
"We are not going to go out there and play carnival football, to just have a bit of fun in maybe our last game of the year.
"We want to get back to playing efficient, ruthless rugby."
If the Sharks were in a position where they needed to chase tries, the Chiefs would look to exploit that, he said.
There was a lot of frustration within the side after they fell over against the Force and Lions in consecutive weeks to mortally wound their season.
"We know that when everyone is on deck and we are humming we deserve to be featuring in this comp."
