KEY POINTS:
Here's the funny thing. Since the Chiefs decided tackling was an unnecessary evil after a hard-fought loss to the Blues, they've started winning.
Here's another thing. Once All Blacks halfback Byron Kelleher had his nose smeared across his face and was replaced by three-try Brendon Leonard yesterday, the
Chiefs really started purring.
And here's a final thing, and this borders on the hilarious. The Chiefs will almost certainly end this weekend fourth on the ladder. With games at home to the Sharks next week, then away to the Waratahs, the Chiefs are ideally placed for one of the more improbable semifinal charges in recent history.
If they are to make it, it won't be through the back door so much as a door marked 'bonus point'. After yesterday's nine-try effort, the Chiefs have racked up nine in 10 matches.
You could hardly argue they weren't good value for their five points. From about the 20th minute, they made liars out of their previous form and blew away the Force.
With ball in hand, Liam Messam and his willing followers were almost impossible to stop.
On defence - well, let's just say tackling is a commitment made more in the heart and head than in the legs and shoulders and the Chiefs might want to relocate those important body parts as the season approaches critical mass.
It might seem churlish to highlight the shortcomings when a team racks up 64 points against the side previously placed fourth but it didn't go unnoticed by coach Ian Foster.
"The last two weeks have been about us playing teams ahead of us and we've really had to deliver," an almost delighted Foster said. "With 64 points against a team ranked one or two defensively, there were a lot of positives and one glaring negative."
Last week, the Highlanders' backs showed previously undisplayed penetration in the Queenstown try-a-thon and in the first half yesterday, the Chiefs, and in particular Tasesa Lavea, did a marvellous impression of traffic controllers, waving through the Force at will. Certainly there were few collisions to bother the Force before their first try - following an excellent Stephen Donald penalty into a strong wind - stringing six low-maintenance phases together before the Chiefs pattern fell to pieces.
"We've just got to tackle. We've got away with it two weeks in a row, we won't get away with it three weeks," Foster said. "We were slow to get into the game. They shocked us early, they held on to the ball and we were slow to react. We just fell off too many tackles and we weren't as aggressive as we wanted to be."
The home side were saved their defensive blushes shortly after Nathan Sharpe's opener, when Cameron Shepherd managed to find Roy Kinikinilau on what appeared to be a six-on-one overlap. Kinikinilau raced away for a 14-pointer while Chris O'Young, the Force halfback who moments earlier had made a snappy break, was in a heap of trouble after wearing a Sitiveni Sivivatu arm across his face as he was falling.
Lavea stayed with the halfback who looked seriously ill until treatment arrived. It was a nice touch but less appreciated was the glaring miss on Scott Fava that allowed Matt Giteau to equalise with a penalty.
Giteau, the buy of the season, soon barrelled over from close range after more ineffectual defence and it looked like the pencils could be sharpened to write the Chiefs' 2007 Super 14 obituary. To add injury to error Byron Kelleher left the park with what looked like a head knock.
Then something clicked.
The Chiefs started winning the collisions, getting all the ball and laid waste to the Force's game plan and, in all likelihood, season.
Lelia Masaga, the winger with the golden touch, scored after a prolonged build-up and slick hands.
Replacement halfback Leonard scored a long-range solo try after a simple scrum move and then Kinikinilau added his second, securing yet another bonus point, after good work from Perpetual Motion Messam.
The break provided the Chiefs with an opportunity to nap, something they carried into the second half, as Shepherd scored after slick but unspectacular work from the Force.
A shudder went through the park but there was nothing to worry about, thanks to tries to Tanerau Latimer and Lavea, and Leonard's second and third. Lavea's followed some great lead-up work from Sivivatu, who shook off a difficult week.
The prodigal coach John Mitchell was philosophical about the performance of his under-manned outfit.
"I guess they were just a little bit better than we were on defence. I probably underestimated the fact we had to make 200 tackles last week [against the Crusaders] and that took a lot of juice out of the guys."
Mitchell said he looked forward to the likes of Matt Henjak returning to the squad and still believed their semifinal destiny was in their hands.
"We've got the Brumbies, then two games at home so we're right in it."
Chiefs 64 (R. Kinikinilau 3 B. Leonard 3 L. Masaga T. Latimer T. Lavea tries, S. Donald 3 pens 5 cons)
Force 36 (M. Giteau 2 N. Sharpe C. Shepherd D. Mitchell tries, Giteau pen 4 cons). HT: 29-15.
