After years of nipping at the heels of competition front-runners, it is finally the Chiefs’ turn to wear the target on their backs.
Since Clayton McMillan took the reins of the side in 2021, the Chiefs have steadily improved from a team that failed to win a game in the2020 Super Rugby Aotearoa competition to one capable of challenging for titles.
Now, six rounds into this year’s competition, they are unbeaten. Having already proven they are capable of running up a score and scoring impressive tries, their 20-13 win over the Blues in Hamilton on Saturday night showed they can win games through their defence as well.
They are playing with confidence and, as co-captain Brad Weber said, that only bodes well.
“We’ve got a group that rides high on confidence, and the confidence is sky high,” Weber said after the win over the Blues.
“We love the challenge and I love it when our boys are walking around with a bit of swagger about them. That’s when they’re on, I reckon. You can tell.”
That mindset showed against the Blues. The Chiefs spent large portions of the game camped out on their own tryline but were able to turn the visitors away time after time. They ended the night with eight players making double-digit tackles, including first five-eighths Damian McKenzie who made an impact at both ends.
Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs gets away from Beauden Barrett of the Blues. Photo / Photosport
McKenzie, playing in the No 10 jersey with opportunity looming in that position on the international stage in the not-too-distant future, has made a great start to the season pulling the strings for the Chiefs attack and was a key part in setting up both tries against the Blues.
“With Damian, if he has a good day at the office then we generally go well,” McMillan said.
“He was in the thick of things when we did well but like all of our players there’s always something to improve on. Some of our kicks were really good, then some were okay but we didn’t back it up with a good defensive chase line and that opened the door for them to get back into parts of the field that we didn’t want to be in. That’s a bit of a collective effort that one, but we’re a better team when he’s on the field.”
While the Chiefs have started the season on a roll, with their scalps including the Crusaders, Blues and Highlanders — all teams in the top six — they refuse to look too far into the future.
They now get the chance to reset in the week ahead as they have the bye in the next round, before meeting a surging Hurricanes outfit.
“It’s the classic ‘one game at a time’ for us,” Weber said. “Things can shift pretty quickly on the table; all it takes is a couple of losses and you’re chasing the pack again.
“In the past few seasons, we’ve been in the pack chasing the leaders, now we have to get used to having a target on our backs and everyone chasing us. It’s a bit different for us but it’s something we’re pretty excited about.”
