The Chiefs opened their Super Rugby campaign with a 24-15 bonus-point win over the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday.
The Highlanders started brightly, but fell off the pace as the match progressed, while the Chiefs slowly worked their way into the contest to ultimately prevail.
The Chiefs led 14-9 at the break, thanks to James Lowe's opportunistic double. The winger latched on to a poor pass from Highlanders scrumhalf Aaron Smith to score against the run of play, before simply ripping the ball out of Waisake Naholo's grasp in a one-on-one situation.
Adding insult to injury, the hosts lost captain Ben Smith for the remainder of the contest, following a mid-air collision with his All Blacks understudy Damian McKenzie. Nonetheless, Sopoaga added two penalties in the last 10 minutes before the break to reduce the deficit.
The Highlanders' abysmal finishing continued through to the second half, with numerous scoring opportunities ending in knock-ons and kickable penalties turned down. At the other end, the Chiefs extended their advantage with a third converted try.
The Highlanders did manage to add six points to their tally via Sopoaga's boot to spark hopes of a comeback, but Cruden immediately wiped out three of those to secure the result for the visitors.
Highlanders – Penalties: Lima Sopoaga (5).
Chiefs – Tries: James Lowe (2), Hika Elliot. Conversion: Aaron Cruden (3). Penalty: Cruden.
SUPERBRU: Our team's Super Rugby picks
Highlanders – 15 Ben Smith (c), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Rob Thompson, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Liam Squire, 7 James Lentjes, 6 Gareth Evans, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Siate Tokolahi, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown.
Subs: 16 Adrian Smith, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Guy Millar, 19 Jackson Hemopo, 20 Elliot Dixon, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Fletcher Smith, 23 Matt Faddes.
Chiefs – 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Toni Pulu, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Johnny Faauli, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Mitch Karpik, 6 Taleni Seu, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Kane Hames.
Subs: 16 Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi, 18 Atu Moli, 19 Mitchell Brown, 20 Lachlan Boshier, 21 Jonathan Taumateine, 22 Tim Nanai-Williams, 23 Shaun Stevenson.
Super Rugby preview: Round 1 (Part 2)
Photo: Dainne Manson/Getty Images
