Rugby: Semifinal spot looms, but don't tell the Chiefs

The Chiefs' win over the Cheetahs ended a four-year winless run in South Africa. Photo / Getty Images

They may be within spitting distance of just their second Super Rugby playoff appearance but the Chiefs are determined not to get too far ahead of themselves.

Top of the table with 31 points, three wins from their final four matches would almost certainly be good enough for a semifinal spot. Two might even do it.

The Chiefs, though, only have eyes for one match, tomorrow morning's showdown with fellow title contenders the Bulls in Pretoria.

Bitter experience has shown the Chiefs that being in the playoff frame was one thing, actually nailing down a top-four spot quite another, captain Mils Muliaina said.

"We've been in similar situations before and not quite made it so we are not being over-confident or looking too far ahead."

Last weekend's victory over the Cheetahs in Kimberley may have snapped a four-year winless run in the Republic, but Muliaina knows an occasional one-off victory on the high veldt won't transform the Chiefs from nearly-men to genuine title contenders.

"This [game] poses a massive challenge in terms of 'can we back up in South Africa'," he said.

"It's always very easy when you haven't won here for a while to get up for that first game, but to try to back up in South Africa is very difficult."

A combination of a mid-afternoon kick-off in sweltering 32C heat and the effect of altitude had sucked plenty of juice out of the Chiefs but they still finished strongly against the Cheetahs to provide a welcome boost of confidence.

"I think we've realised how hard it is to play in these conditions," Muliaina said. "The guys are feeling good and this game has a lot of excitement around it. We want to keep that momentum going. We are not looking at where we are on the log, we are just enjoying the way we play."

After six consecutive wins the Chiefs fully deserve to be in their happy place, but the third-placed Bulls, back home at Loftus Versfeld after a five-match tour Downunder, are sure to provide a markedly sterner examination than the lowly Cheetahs.

Coach Ian Foster has made two changes, bringing in Toby Morland to replace injured halfback Brendan Leonard and giving Hika Elliot the start ahead of Aled de Malmanche in the hotly-contested hooker berth.

De Malmanche suffered from a chest cold ahead of the Cheetahs match and was replaced at halftime by Elliot, who scored a crucial runaway try just three minutes after the break.

De Malmanche has recovered but Elliot's form - he scored a try and set up another in the win over the Lions - earned him the nod.

"We just felt that game took a lot out of Aled," Foster said. "Hika's fitness is good and his execution is good - hooker has turned into a pretty tight race."

After the sapping conditions in Kimberley, Foster admitted he had been tempted to inject more fresh players into his line-up.

"We just felt that we'd come off a bye, we'd had a run around at Kimberley at altitude and with guys having the experience of what that is like, we'd be better with that run under our belt. So I guess we've gone on the side of consistency and combinations."

With the scrum having an edge and the lineout problems that have dogged the side conspicuous by their absence last week, the Chiefs' set-pieces look in good shape. The extended absence of strike wingers Sitiveni Sivivatu and Lelia Masaga and the more recent loss of Leonard make that new stability up front crucial to the Chiefs' chances of upsetting the Bulls on their own turf.

"We did some really good things against the Cheetahs but we weren't quite accurate enough to finish that game off as early as we should have," Foster said.

"The Bulls are going to be a slightly different kettle of fish. They are going to be a bit more confident, with a game plan that is more defined and recognisable but that has proven very, very efficient.

"If we give them the number of opportunities we gave the Cheetahs it is going to be a very tough day at the office."