Chiefs seek consistency
The Chiefs head to Durban on the back of one their best attacking performances of this year's Super Rugby campaign but remain determined to iron out a roller coaster of form.
They ended the Stormers' four-match winning run with a 28-19 victory in Cape Town which knocked the home side off the top of the table in a hugely intense match played in 30-degree heat.
"The win was massive for us and not too many teams will win in Cape Town this year so we're really happy with that but if we don't back this victory up next week - remembering we had a really good win against the Crusaders and then stumbled against the Highlanders - it won't count for much.
"We need to be at our best every week and the Sharks are pretty desperate, having already dropped a couple of games.
"It's always tough in Durban because it's so humid and playing in the rain means it will probably be a slightly different approach from us," Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie said.
There are injury concerns over two of the backline stars in Tim Nanai-Williams (finger) and Sonny Bill Williams (possible concussion) as well as loosehead prop Pauliasi Manu, who played much of the first half with a rib cartilage injury before being replaced. Any replacement decisions were to be made on Monday after further assessment.
Williams went off midway through the first half for a concussion test, which he passed although the Stormers scored their only try through the midfield while he was off the field, and was later replaced when he got a cut under his eye requiring a couple of stitches. He will need to get through concussion protocols this week in order to be chosen for the Sharks match.
The Chiefs will not want to make too many changes to their backline after it produced some stunning interchanges of passing, pace and support play to score three tries to the Stormers' one.
While the pack had their hands full at set-piece time and were engaged in a massively physical, intense battle at the breakdowns with the big, abrasive Stormers forwards, the loose trio of debutant Michael Leitch,Liam Messam and Sam Cane were outstanding against formidable opponents in Duane Vermeulen, Nizaam Carr and Siya Kolisi, plus replacement Schalk Burger.
"I thought our loosies were great. Obviously it would have been nice if Michael had been able to operate off a strong scrum but he was certainly very combative, got his hands on a lot of pill in the tackle and to play 80 minutes on debut - it doesn't get much better than that.
"It was brutal and there were some massive collisions throughout the game, it was incredibly intense, so hot, and the game was really quick, which probably suited us in the end.
"We've got a very well conditioned team and the pace of the game really told on them in the end. We were really happy to play a day game with a nice dry ball," he added.