The silence from the doubters is deafening...
The match was a mess but the result was right as the Chiefs earned a historic home semifinal, holding on for a desperate win against the Brumbies in trying conditions in Hamilton on Friday night. Ian Fosters side went to the top of the clogged points table with the 10-7 result and will have to wait till the last match of the weekend to see if the Bulls can win against the Sharks in Durban to overhaul them.
But crucially the Chiefs cant be pipped for second place now and their second semifinals appearance in 14 seasons will be back in Hamilton next weekend.
Prematch rain that returned early in the second half didnt help the match as a spectacle.
And the stop-start affair didnt suit the Chiefs nor either sides attempt to snare four tries for a crucial bonus point.
The Brumbies earned one for their narrow loss to lift to fourth in the points table but they are extremely vulnerable as this last round plays out over the weekend.
With the slippery conditions contributing to the errors the Brumbies happily flexed a fair bit of muscle at scrum time. After dominating the Blues last week their pack had a decided early edge in Hamilton as well, although the Chiefs recovered to have their moments too
Resets and free kicks were the order of night and Chiefs loosehead Ben May was a casualty with a nasty left knee twist from one scrum collapse early in the second spell.
The Chiefs propping problems continued when tighthead James McGougan trudged off with a leg injury 10 minutes from the end.
And there was the worrying sight of halfback Brendon Leonard limping off soon after.
But there was no lack of effort or heart from the Chiefs.
Just as he did the previous week in the gritty win over the Hurricnaes, Stephen Donald scored all of the Chiefs' points with his penalty the only scoring action of a dogged second spell.
The Brumbies tackling was fierce and largely accurate but the Chiefs put in some big hits also as defence dominated the night.
The Chiefs received a blow before the opening whistle when classy centre Richard Kahui was ruled out, prompting Dwayne Sweeney to take over in the midfield and come up against Stirling Mortlock.
There was a hesitant start from both sides. The high ball dominated the opening quarter and this was a period of searching by both packs in the set piece.
Morlock missed the first chance for points, skewing a handy penalty.
Donald did the same at the other end soon after.
The Chiefs paid for a defensive blunder when Lelia Masaga waited for a Adam Ashley-Cooper grubber kick to go into the goal area so he could force it down for the drop out. But Brumbies wing Francis Fainifo nipped in and stole a try to break the deadlock after 32 minutes with Mortlock converting from the sideline.
The Chiefs hit back immediately, wining a clean lineout and spinning it wide for Masaga to make amends by taking the ball to the corner and from the ruck Donald crashed over for his 50th first class try. He then added the extras for 7-all and thats how it stayed through to the interval.
Donald hit the post with a penalty attempt in the 57th minute as the Chiefs dominated the second half.
The Chiefs made an interesting tactical substitution on the hour when they replaced big Sione Lauaki with Serge Lilo, deciding to operate with two opensides as the battle for the loose ball became paramount.
The Chiefs missed a likely counterattack scoring opportunity when Liam Messam neglected an open Masga 40m out and was swamped by the Brumbies defence.
Ashley Cooper then provided the heroics for the visitors when he produce a try-saving tackle on Callum Bruce in front of the posts after the Chiefs attacked from a charged down kick as they maintained all of the pressure.
That eventually told with Brumbies replacement hooker Huia Edmonds penalised and sin-binned for slowing down ruck ball and Donald making sure of the three points this time to give the Chiefs 10-7 lead with 12 minutes left.
Poor hands by Tanerau Latimer cost the Chiefs again in a helter-skelter counter-attack that looked likely.
Sitiveni Sivivatu brought in the TMO to rule a no-try as he almost pulled off a chip and recover in the corner.
Just as they had the previous week the Chiefs hung tough when it was required to see out an ugly but famous victory.
Chiefs 10: Stephen Donald try; Donald con, pen.
Brumbies 7: Francis Fainifo try; Stirling Mortlock con.
HT: 7-7
Crowd: 17,058
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia).
Hurricanes 37 (Ma'a Nonu 2, Piri Weepu, Cory Jane, Jeremy Thrush tries; Willie Ripia 2 pen, 3 con)
Reds 28 (Quade Cooper, Ben Lucas, Mark McLinden, Brando Va'aulu tries; Berrick Barnes 4 con).
Halftime: 24-14.
Crusaders 15 (Leon MacDonald 4 pen, dropped goal)
Blues 13 (Isaia Toeava try; Jimmy Gopperth 2 pen, con).
Halftime: 6-3.
The Bulls will be at home to the Crusaders in one semifinal and the Chiefs will host the Hurricanes in the other with three New Zealand asides making the playoffs after the dust settled from a pulsating final round of action. The makeup of the top four was in the balance right till the final whistle of the final match with the Bulls sneaking past the Sharks 27-26 in Durban for a vital win that saw them finish top of the table.
In the end the four teams that entered the final round with their foot in the door all recorded varying wins to sneak through in contrasting styles.
The Chiefs opened the action on Friday night with their gritty 10-7 win over the Brumbies.
The Crusaders needed some late heroics from departing veteran Leon MacDonald to get past the Blues 15-13 at Eden Park.
The Hurricanes made sure of their spot with a bonus point 37-28 win over the Reds 37-28 in Brisbane.
And then the Bulls did the business in Durban, killing off the Sharks' hopes with their one point win that was enough for them to sneak past the Chiefs and snatch the all-important No 1 spot that will ensure them home advantage all the way through.
The final points in the top four were Bulls 46, Chiefs 45, Hurricanes 44, Crusaders 41.
The Crusaders edged the Waratahs on points differential to snare fourth and deny any Australian presence in the playoffs.
The Chiefs' inability to get a bonus point out of their tense struggle with the Brumbies on Friday night ultimately cost them the top spot.
But they are delighted to still have home advantage for their semifinal although it is a demanding affair, being a rematch of last week's clash in Hamilton that saw the Chiefs hold out the Hurricanes 16-13.
It will be fascinating to see if they can again out-think and out-muscle the Hurricanes whose attack clicked into gear again in Brisbane.
The Crusaders hopes of defending their title are very much alive although thy emus hop on a plane to South Africa for the daunting assignment of trying to topple the Bulls in Pretoria.
But all in all it represents a fine and satisfying return from the New Zealand sides.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/2417975/NZ-get-three-into-Super-14-semifinals
Still have to say the Tribe deserved the win and hope they get a home final against the Crushers for the Mooloo faithful. 
