Free-running Chiefs win again

Try time: Lelia Masaga

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• Western Force

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The Chiefs extended their winning streak to five consecutive games on Friday with a 20-12 victory over the Western Force at nib Stadium in Perth.

Wingers Lelia Masaga and Tim Nanai-Williams scored either side of half time to help their team to another win which provisionally takes them to the top of the Super Rugby overall standings.

Despite competing well, the Force never really looked like crossing the whitewash and had to rely on the boot of full-back David Harvey - who kicked four penalties - for all their points.

The hosts' fifth loss in seven games leaves them rooted to the bottom of the Australian conference.

While the Chiefs will no doubt be happy to pocket four points before jetting off to South Africa, they won't be entirely satisfied with their performance as a plethora of turnovers and handling errors ensured they did not get the four-try bonus point that should have been on the cards given their domination.

Indeed, the visitors occasionally lost all structure and far too often were guilty of overdoing it on attack when a more patient approach could have yielded a better result.

The visitors led 7-6 at the breaks thanks to Masaga's try on the 15-miute mark. The wing, who was a constant threat, scooted in near the posts after collecting Aaron Cruden's clever pop pass.

The Chiefs' errors and Harvey's boot kept the hosts in touch but the Kiwi side landed the killer blow when Sonny Bill Williams drew five defenders before off-loading basket-ball style inside to his cousin Nanai-Williams on 48 minutes.

The Force kept plugging away but never realistically threatened to snatch victory.

The scorers:

For the Western Force:
Pens: Harvey 4

For the Chiefs:
Tries: Masaga, Nanai-Williams
Cons: Cruden 2
Pens: Cruden 2

Western Force: 15 David Harvey, 14 Samu Wara, 13 Nick Cummins, 12 Winston Stanley, 11 Alfie Mafi, 10 Ben Seymour, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Matt Hodgson, 7 David Pocock (c), 6 Richard Brown, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Kieran Longbottom, 18 Phoenix Battye, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Josh Homes, 21 Rory Sidey, 22 Patrick Dellit.

Chiefs: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Lelia Masaga , 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Kane Thompson, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick , 4 Craig Clarke (c), 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Arizona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Michael Fitzgerald, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Andrew Horrell, 22 Jackson Willison.

Referee: Jonathon White (New Zealand)