If you were looking for an example of the chasm between the quality of New Zealand and Australian rugby at the moment, the Chiefs and Reds provided it.
You'd only need to look as far as the 36-12 scoreline, in favour of the Chiefs in Brisbane on Saturday night.
In front of their home fans, the Reds simply made up the numbers in the first half. In the moments they had ball in hand, it wasn't long before they coughed it up. As coach Brad Thorn said at the half-time break, "anything that could go wrong did go wrong."
While they threw more at the visitors in the second 40, the Chiefs shrugged off just about every Reds attack.
On the other side of the pitch, the Chiefs were having their way. To be fair, the Reds defended well in the opening exchanges and cut down a number of near-linebreaks, but the signs were ominous.
All it took was a penalty from No 10 Damian McKenzie and a try from lock Tyler Ardron, and the Chiefs ignited Suncorp Stadium.
McKenzie had his fingerprints all over the opening play, putting Solomon Alaimalo over in the corner after breaking the line - though Alaimalo bombed the try - before summing up the situation attacking inside the Reds' 10 to put fullback Charlie Ngatai through a gaping hole.
It was the last act McKenzie had in the attack. The first five-eighth left the field after sustaining a knock to the head from teammate Angus Ta'avao when attempting a tackle around the 20-minute mark and failed his head injury assessment.
Though limited, McKenzie showed he's capable of playing smart and making good decisions in the No10 jersey – a much better offering than he served up against the Hurricanes the week prior.
His exit gave brother Marty McKenzie an extended run and, while the attack slowed down a touch, the Reds had no answer for the visitors and went further behind when Brodie Retallick joined his locking partner on the score sheet.
Leading 24-0 at half-time, the Chiefs wasted no time extending their lead when hooker Liam Polwart scored out wide.
While the had the better of the play in the second half, there was little the Queenslanders tried that the Hamilton-based club couldn't handle. However, standout performer Samu Kerevi was rewarded for his toil, scoring the Reds' only two tries in the contest.
And, while the Chiefs had some stunning phases of play, they would admit they were sloppy at times - committing 16 turnovers, missing more tackles than their hosts and seemingly switching off in the second half.
Nonetheless, they can be relatively happy to take the maximum five points and go into the bye next week with another notch in the win column.
Scores
Chiefs 36 (Tyler Ardron, Charlie Ngatai, Brodie Retallick, Liam Polwart; Samisoni Taukei'aho tries; Damian McKenzie 2 cons, pen; Marty McKenzie 2 cons)
Reds 12 (Samu Kerevi 2 tries; Jono Lance con)
HT: 24-0
- By Christopher Reive