Bye will help Chiefs rediscover their deadly edge

Time can be a severe mistress. Two weeks ago the Chiefs were being proclaimed as a good chance to repeat their heroics of last year, winning three matches on the road.  Now back-to-back losses have last year’s runners up reviewing where they are at.

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Generally regarded as a team that takes a while to get out of the blocks, there are still many positives for the Chiefs, who are still in good shape with three wins from their first five games.

Even after this weekends games are completed, they will still sit in the top four of the Rebel Sport Super 14 table.

The loss to the Queensland Reds was a massive upset, but while the side were clearly disappointed with their loss to the Crusaders, to lose to the seven time champions is no embarrassment, and there was a lot more urgency and control against the red and blacks.

The vibe coming out of Waikato is to keep positive, something that All Black centre Richard Kahui believes, especially considering he and his team mates think they are still to hit their straps.

"We're obviously not happy about losing our last two games but this time last year we were on 12 points," he told Sunday News.

"So we still know there are plenty of games to go and we're not playing anywhere near our potential yet, so that's a positive sign. If we were losing and playing well it would be a worrying time for us.”

"We know we're not playing well but we've still got plenty of gears left. We'll look forward to coming back and playing against the Brumbies in two weeks' time but we'll enjoy our time off before then."

The bye has come at the perfect time, to allow the team to reassess and see what is working and what needs to be worked on. The euphoria of three away wins combined with the anguish of losing in front of their faithful, means that this season has been an emotional roller coaster for the side.

"After those first three weeks away and that tough week when we came back it feels like the season so far has gone pretty quickly,” Kahui said.

"The guys are looking forward to having a rest as well as reviewing those first five weeks. With the bye next week we'll have a recap to see where we go from here."