Historically this inconsistency has allowed them top 10 finishes, their best result being a final appearance in Pretoria two years ago, in which they were utterly demolished by a very impressive Bulls outfit. They started reasonably well in 2010 but tailed off badly towards the back end of the season when they played the majority of their away games, eventually finishing in 11th behind the Cheetahs.
They are coached by Ian Foster who has been at the helm a good while now and are captained by the evergreen Mils Muliaina.
The chiefs major strength is in their electric back three with the aforementioned Muliaina, Sitaveni Sivivatu and Leilia Masaga, when they are all fit, which rarely happens at the same time. They are ridiculously quick and are all as adept at creating tries as they are at scoring them.
Inside the back three are All Blacks Richard Kahui and Dan Carter’s understudy at 10 for the All Blacks, Stephen Donald. Both suffer from the same injury proneness as their counterparts but are quality players when they get it right. Donald is the kind of player who needs game time to get the best out of skills, so I hope to see him have an injury free run and set the guys outside him alight. Unfortunately there isn’t really much depth after that, Tana Umaga has joined the squad but I suspect he will play more of a more bench and coaching role.
The Chiefs have also battled up front historically and I expect more of the same in 2011. They’ll probably prove me wrong, just like they do every time I think they’ll thrash the Western Force or lose to the Crusaders. I think they’ll end up third or fourth in the New Zealand conference and in the top ten overall, somewhere from 7th to 9th. They are an exciting team to watch and I for one will do my utmost not to miss any of their games.
