Rugby: Injury-plagued Chiefs shrug off handicap in anticipation of great clash with southerners

The Chiefs managed to grind their way to the finals this season. Photo / Getty Images

The Chiefs have been here before.

Making the playoffs has been standard fare for the Chiefs in the Dave Rennie era and they collected championship crowns in 2012 and 2013.

The deck might be stacked against them as they juggle a huge injury toll and a trip to Dunedin to play the Highlanders on Saturday but few teams seem built to cope with adversity like the Chiefs.

They're almost running out of loose forwards who can join the franchise on short-term contracts to cover their ailments. They lost another halfback for the season in Augustine Pulu who fractured his right forearm during their 21-13 loss to the Hurricanes in New Plymouth on Saturday, while few squads would have continued to thrive despite losing their first-five. Aaron Cruden watches on as his knee heals.

But despite all the curveballs that have been thrown in their direction, the Chiefs managed to grind their way to the finals this season.

The Highlanders, who won both derbies against the Chiefs in 2015, will likely start as favourites this weekend but don't tell Rennie's side.

"We can't wait to get stuck in this week, have a bit of edge and head down to Dunedin and hopefully head away with a good result," Chiefs first five-eighths Marty McKenzie told Radio Sport yesterday.

"They're lucky to have that indoor stadium down there so no matter what, we should have a dry ball to play with and they'll have a lot of support behind them."

The Highlanders played in the finals last year when they were bounced out in the wildcard round by the Sharks in Durban. The Chiefs also fell at the same hurdle last season when they lost a close encounter against the Brumbies in Canberra.

"We've got a lot of experienced players in our team and they've been to finals footy and won a couple of championships," McKenzie said.

"So they'll be the boys that we'll be turning to this week along with the coaching staff, just to feed off them."

The Chiefs could have secured home advantage for their meeting with the Highlanders but they needed to produce a big win over the Hurricanes in New Plymouth.

But they went down to the table-topping Hurricanes who will have a bye this week before hosting a semifinal in Wellington on June 27.

Despite having a bye, this week could still be an emotionally draining one for the Hurricanes who will attend the funeral of former loose forward Jerry Collins. The side will also have a few days off to rest up before tackling some conditioning sessions later in the week to stay sharp.

First-five Beauden Barrett missed Saturday's victory over the Chiefs with a minor calf strain but he was expected to be fit for the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree told Radio Sport he had been approached about a coaching role with the Stormers but he had no intention of leaving his post in the capital.

"I'm happy with what I'm doing so nothing's going to change for me," he said.