The Chiefs held on grimly to stave off a late assault by the visiting Sharks and maintain top spot in the Super Rugby standings after an energy-sapping 24-22 win in New Plymouth yesterday.
The Waikato side were outscored three tries to two but costly lapses of discipline cost the Sharks dearly in the second half, allowing flyhalf Aaron Cruden to slot three penalties for some vital breathing space.
The Sharks’ replacement hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle set up a tense finish with a late try but the Chiefs soaked up the final minutes deep in attack, clinging to the ball until Cruden could boot it into touch to seal the win.
“We’re very pleased to get the win, albeit a fraction ugly, but that’s what you’ve got to do against tough teams,” Chiefs captain Sam Cane said in a pitchside interview.
“We didn’t kick very well in that first half ... and we were forcing too many passes without building any phases so that was what was costing us. We tightened it up a wee bit in the second half.”
Despite the seventh straight win for the Chiefs, their coach Dave Rennie said they were lucky to stay top of the competition, saying it was not a convincing win.  
“It was a pretty flat performance,” he said.
“When we did we put them under pressure we stuttered our way through it and we were lucky to get a result.”
The Chiefs also rode their luck last week in a one-point win against the Wellington Hurricanes and Rennie will be looking for improvement against defending champions the Otago Highlanders next week.
The defeat means the Sharks have four wins, one draw and four losses so far this season, retaining second place in the Africa 2 conference.
The Chiefs leapt out of the blocks with a try in the opening minute to centre Seta Tamanivalu and stormed to a 15-3 lead after 23 minutes following another five-pointer to number eight Michael Leitch.
The Durban side pegged back the deficit with a try to prop Kyle Cooper who shoved over near the left corner after a text-book line-out drive.
Flyhalf Garth April beat four defenders in a brilliant, jinking run to grab a second try and level the game at 15-15 at the break.
All Black Cruden edged the Chiefs ahead with three penalties, his last giving the home side a nine-point lead with 11 minutes left.
It triggered a frantic Sharks assault on the Chiefs’ line which ended with Ralepelle barging over at the back of another imperious rolling maul.
April’s nerveless conversion from a tight angle made it a two-point game but at the end of a taxing New Zealand tour, the Sharks were unable to win back possession from iron-willed opponents bent on gritting out the win.
“I think we hung in there ... We just let them off the hook at crucial times,” Sharks captain Keegan Daniel said after the team’s fourth loss of the season.
“We’ve come away with six points on the tour so we’ll look back and say ‘we’ll take six’ and regroup back home.”
In Perth, South Africa’s Bulls rampaged to a 42-20 bonus-point victory over a spent Western Force.
Centre Jan Serfontein and hooker Adriaan Strauss bagged a brace of tries each to go with a score from number eight Hanro Liebenberg.
The visitors had a narrow
18-13 lead at the break, but pulled away in the second half to
move level with the Stormers at the top of Africa Conference 1 on 28 points with both teams having played eight matches.
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