The Chiefs make no secret of their desire to take over the No.1 spot on the Super Rugby Pacific table — and they can with a victory over the Reds in Hamilton on Friday night.
Fresh from their bye, the Chiefs have plenty to play for – quite apart from their wish for that top spot.
Wing Shaun Stevenson, 28, will celebrate his 100th match for the franchise, becoming the 11th player to achieve the milestone.
Adding to the occasion is the jeopardy factor as the Reds have a habit of upsetting the Chiefs in the round robin. They did that in New Plymouth in 2023, meaning there is unlikely to be any complacency among a Chiefs line-up wary of the Queenslanders’ improvements.
“They played really well that night and it was probably the wake up call we needed,” Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said of the defeat two years ago.
“We were travelling pretty well from memory at that stage… there’s nothing wrong with getting a little tune up.
“And they’ve given us that message a few times. We haven’t had a great track record in the round robin against them in recent years.”
The Chiefs made the final at Waikato Stadium that year but ran into a Crusaders team determined to send their coach Scott Robertson off on the right note, the red and blacks winning their seventh straight title under the man known as Razor.
With the defending champion Blues – who beat the Chiefs in last year’s final at Eden Park – suffering all kinds of inconsistencies, McMillan’s men are probably now odds-on to go one better and add to the titles won in 2012 and 2013 under Dave Rennie.
Of the Reds, who have the same 5-1 record as the Chiefs this season but are one competition point ahead, McMillan said: "They’re really impressive. I’ve got a lot of time for [coach] Les Kiss — he’s obviously really experienced. They’ve got a young group that has been together for a while and they’ve grown in confidence."
He said the bye had come at the right time for the Chiefs. “We’d felt like we had six massive games back to back. We were starting to get a bit of wear and tear, so it came at the right time for us.”
And added of his team’s goal: "We’re not No.1 and we want to be, so…"
"That’s straightforward," McMillan was told. "It’s the truth," he replied.
Wallace Sititi stretching out
Meanwhile, an extremely promising sign for the All Blacks and Chiefs was the sight of loose forward Wallace Sititi running at training today.
Sititi — who enjoyed a remarkable debut year for the All Blacks in 2024 and was named World Rugby's breakthrough player of year — had knee surgery in January and was thought to be out for the entire Super Rugby season.
Sititi's progress suggests that may have been a conservative estimate and that he may turn out for the Chiefs this year after all.
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