Rugby: Magical Pulu clouds Chiefs' No9 pick

Chiefs player Augustine Pulu. Photo / NZME.

Over the course of 68 immaculate minutes from Augustine Pulu, the Chiefs' halfback picture became much murkier.

The head-to-head competition the position promised in pre-season had appeared won, with Brad Weber starting nine of his side's 12 games to take a stranglehold on the No9 jersey.

Pulu had shown promise in rare starts and short stints off the bench but Weber had seemingly leapfrogged his teammate both in the Chiefs' and All Blacks' estimations.

Then, on Friday night in Rotorua, it all changed. In his first start for six weeks, Pulu was the sparkplug that helped an electric Chiefs attack grab five tries in their win over the Bulls, scoring two and setting the tone whenever the ball was in his hands.

Perhaps guilty in the past of erring in his option-taking, Pulu mixed solid distribution with 101 metres on 14 carries. He found plenty of space when running but, importantly, picked the right time to pass and tallied six offloads.

If he wanted to create a selection headache for Dave Rennie, mission accomplished.

"We're lucky," the coach said. "We've got two good nines and they're both playing really well. It's a bit of a horses for courses thing, so we'll look at a bit of footage and make a decision."

Pulu, for his part, knew that decision was out of his control, but hoped to have a chance to repeat his impressive performance when the Chiefs travel to the Highlanders on Saturday.

"I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to play and I'm pretty happy with the way I went," he said. "I've just got to take my opportunities when I get them. Hopefully I've done that."

The Highlanders, of course, have a handy halfback of their own, while TJ Perenara would currently be Aaron Smith's preferred back-up in the black jersey. But behind that pair probably sits a trio of Chiefs in the next three spots on the depth chart, considering long-term absentee Tawera Kerr-Barlow was last season preferred to Pulu and Weber.

As Pulu acknowledged, a stable platform from the pack and a talent-laden backline certainly helps, but the Chiefs clearly excel in developing halfbacks. Part of that success may be attributable to the competition itself, with the battle on the training paddock as fierce as anything found on a Friday night.

"It's always good to have battles because they bring out the best in yourself," Pulu said. "Brad has been outstanding. He's been fronting every week so all I can do is take my opportunities."

He certainly did that on Friday, with the two-test All Black excelling with an up-tempo attack. The Chiefs are almost unstoppable when that attack is in harmony and, in Pulu and the sharp-passing Weber, they have a couple of halfbacks more than capable of playing conductor.