Dangerous Chiefs peaking at the right time

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Coach Clayton McMillan said after the Chiefs beat the Reds on Friday that while the Chiefs didn't have much to go their way when last playing in Wellington, they still managed to be in front with 20 minutes left before falling into a hole.

There was also little between the sides when they played in Hamilton.

"So, we'll go down there with a whole heap of confidence around what we can do."

McMillan said the first half against the Reds set the tone for the rest of the game. Although out to a run-a-minute start, the Chiefs felt the Reds would throw something back at them, and they did.

But he was happy with how the Chiefs responded.

"We've been season for a decent performance for a while now, and we always knew we had it in us and went a fair way to achieving something like what we're capable of doing."

Preparation during the week was good. The leaders set the scene, and it was relaxed.

"Everyone was over their detail nice and early, and that showed up.

"We also learned some lessons, some harsh lessons over the last couple of weeks, particularly around discipline and accuracy. We showed a lot of clear pictures today."

He wasn't surprised by the performance because there had been times during the season when they showed glimpses of their capabilities.

"It's been a case of finding consistency in their performance and being able to deliver when it matters."

Captain Luke Jacobson said the side got to play another week and was excited about what comes next.

The improved discipline was helped by their focus on setting a clear offside line from their first defender off their ruck and trusting that he set that line correctly.

"We made that adjustment and you can see the difference between being too keen giving away penalties and letting them kick to the corner [last week] as opposed to tonight where we were able to complete our defensive sets, come up, and then end up getting a turnover or forcing them to kick."

There was good trust in the side, their communication was good, and they fed off each other.

"It's about us as a pack all nailing our roles and not getting too fancy with things which we did well."

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