It was obvious this was going to be a dynamite encounter from the moment Samipeni Finau smashed into Tane Edmed with a vicious, but legal, tackle in the third minute of the Super Rugby Pacific match in Sydney.
Chiefs blindside flanker Finau crunched Waratahs No 10 Edmed with such force that you feared the playmaker’s final act of the game would be to limp off the track with his ribcage stacked in a wheelbarrow.
The Chiefs secured a bonus-point 38-22 victory, but they were forced to combine flashes of brilliance with physicality and, well, good old fashioned brutality to get the job done.
Edmed wasn’t prepared to give Finau the satisfaction of seeing him flutter the white flag after the massive shot; somehow he lifted anchor to drag himself off the dirt to put himself in harm’s way during a clash that had plenty of testy confrontations
The Chiefs, having conceded five penalties to zilch inside the first 20-odd minutes, gave the impression that when they hopped out of the bus at Allianz Stadium they had made a pact that they were going to blow-up whenever they got within sniffing distance of anyone wearing a blue jersey.
If they were going to be challenged, there would be consequences.
Finau proved that when he attempted to turn Edmed to jelly with his intimidating hit, and there were a couple of those push-and-shove dances between the two forward packs that could have potentially resulted in hand bags being swung.
These confrontations were followed by left wing Etene Nanai-Seturo and lock Tupou Vaa’i receiving yellow cards inside the first quarter, the former for a high tackle and the latter for infringing on defence.
It was clear the Chiefs were on the warpath, but they could have paid a high price for their belligerent attitudes had they not calmed down.
Amid all the snorting and pawing of the soil, there was some excellent rugby on display, and it was the Waratahs who rattled on the first two tries to hooker Julian Heaven and halfback Jake Gordon, both off lineouts close to the opposition tryline.
Down 12-0, and with their poor discipline preventing them gaining any traction, the Chiefs collectively shook their heads to clear the red mist.
When the New Zealanders had clarity of thought, they proved they didn’t need to revert to the rough stuff to be a potent machine.
First there was the try to fullback Shaun Stevenson, who scampered 40m after busting a tackle by Edmed, and then a rock solid scrum enabled the visitors to launch, with playmaker Damian McKenzie firing a wide moon-ball to right wing Emoni Narawa.
That is what good teams do. They can unshackle moments of magic to crush opponents, and the Chiefs, when they operate with clarity and feed off their set-pieces, can be as deadly as any team in the competition.
That was evident early in the second half when Narawa, once again, benefited from an efficient lineout to stroll over for his second five-pointer. It was too easy, really, because good teams shouldn’t concede such easy tries off set-pieces.
Then came a slice of Chiefs magic, one of those long-range efforts that should make analysts in the opposition camps react as if they have accidentally chewed a lump of tinfoil.
A sloppy kick downfield from the home side didn’t find touch and the Chiefs launched, as McKenzie displayed his mercurial skills like the magician he is, Vaa’i punched into a hole and halfback Cortez Ratima finished the job.
A couple of fat cherries were then added to the cake after Tahs lock Lachlan Swinton poked the bear with his own five-pointer.
Chiefs No 8 Wallace Sititi imitated a missile when he launched off a 5m scrum to score in the 62nd minute, and skipper and No 7 Lachlan Boshier went over minutes from the end.
The Chiefs weren’t going to be stopped. This team, having been tagged the people’s favourite to win the competition, are still capable of being alive at the sharp end of the season.
