Chiefs

Reuters reports the Chiefs had to work hard against a Waratahs side who fought hard but dropped to 1-4 for the season after a try from first-five Bryn Gatland and two from winger Emoni Narawa got the visitors across the line.

Despite failing to claim a bonus point, the Chiefs opened up a six point lead over the Brumbies at the top of the standings with the reigning champion Crusaders lurking in third place a further two points back pending the weekend matches.

"It was a real arm-wrestle," Chiefs co-captain Sam Cane said.

The creative star made his debut for the club in 2015 and has gone on to win over 800 points for the Chiefs since.

Planet Rugby reports alongside the soon-to-be centurion in the back-three will be winger Etene Nanai-Seturo and Emoni Narawa. Meanwhile, Rameka Poihipi joins Alex Nankivell in the midfield.

Bryn Gatland starts at fly-half alongside one of the co-captains this week, Brad Weber.

Robust pack

Pita Gus Sowakula moves to number eight to allow space for the hard-running Samipeni Finau and co-captain Sam Cane on the flanks.

Despite being at the Crusaders fortress in Christchurch, the visitors have come-from-behind and then pulled away for a big 31-10 win over the defending champions in Friday night's opening match of the 2023 competition.

Trailing 10-7 going into the break, the Chiefs scored 24 unanswered points in the second half as they powered to a confidence boosting victory.

The Chiefs finished third in the regular season standings last season, before being beaten 20-7 by the Crusaders at the semifinal stage.

The 26-year-old midfielder has signed with the Irish club on a two-year deal after playing for the All Blacks XV on last year’s northern tour.

“It has been an absolute pleasure and I am so grateful to the Chiefs for giving me an opportunity to live my childhood dream,” Nankivell said in a statement.

“A massive thank you to the fans, the Chiefs family and my team-mates, both past and present, who have been a part of my journey since I came to Waikato at the end of 2016.

And Patrick Mahomes proved why he is the NFL's Most Valuable Player as he shrugged off an ankle injury to lead the Chiefs to the dramatic win in Arizona.

Kansas City's hopes of returning home with the Lombardi trophy looked bleak late in the opening half when Mahomes appeared to re-injure the right ankle that had been a major worry coming into the game.

Grimacing in pain after a tackle, Mahomes hobbled off the field and slammed his helmet to the turf as the Chiefs headed into halftime trailing 24-14.

The Waikato side ran in five tries in Hamilton, leading 27-10 halftime, before pulling away late in the second half.

Weber and number eight Pita Gus Sowakula crossed in the final quarter to snuff out any chance of a comeback from the visitors.

Chiefs lock Brodie Retallick was happy with his side's outstanding peformance.

"That was just a great Chiefs' pack performance," Retallick said.

"We knew the Waratahs led the statistics around the ruck and the breakdown so we knew we had to be tough there."

After straining his right MCL in the round-14 victory over the Force, Cane didn’t travel to Fiji for the final-round win over the Fijian Drua last Saturday in the hope he would recover for the first round of the playoffs.

The All Blacks skipper sat out much of Tuesday’s training, and while assistant coach David Hill wasn’t ruling the veteran openside flanker out, it’s understood he will indeed be sidelined for the match at FMG Stadium Waikato (4.35pm kickoff).

Fans watched from rooftops as the Drua made their first-ever appearance in the competition in Lautoka, Fiji's second-largest city, with more than 11,000 fans in attendance who were treated to a thriller that almost ended in a home victory.

The Chiefs led 21-7 at half-time, before withstanding a second-half Fijian comeback to hold on for a nail-biting 35-34 victory.

The Chiefs were made to sweat as a 22-point lead was whittled down to a solitary point over the final 10 minutes and the Drua, buoyed by the crowd, gave the Waikato side a fright.

The Blues hammered the Melbourne Rebels 71-28 at Eden Park on Friday to stay top of the standings but the Brumbies and New South Wales Waratahs both won on the eastern shores of the Tasman Sea on Saturday to restore pride for Australia.

The Brumbies were at their clinical best as they outmuscled the Chiefs 38-28 in Hamilton to stay two points behind the Blues in second place ahead of the Crusaders, who romped to a 53-15 victory over the Western Force in Perth.

The Waratahs beat Moana Pasifika 26-20.

Four tries to Jonah Lowe helped the Chiefs to a 51-27 victory in Melbourne on Friday night.

The final margin, though, belied how hard the New Zealand side were made to work for their bonus-point win.

An early red card to prop Angus Bell for a tip tackle on Chiefs captain Sam Cane and a yellow card soon after for centre Jamie Roberts allowed the Chiefs to open up a 22-3 lead.

But when the New South Wales outfit were restored to 15 men, they hit back with two tries of their own.