By Hamish McKay
They struck some end of season speed wobbles but as a rule the Chiefs have been the form team throughout Super Rugby in 2012.
But tomorrow night in Hamilton the slate is wiped clean as they take on a Sharks team that has saved their best for last.
Sharks captain Keegan Daniel, coach John Plumtree and hooker Bismarck du Plesis are clearly jaded, but travel won't be an excuse and winning away from home hasn't been a problem.
The final sees star front-rower du Plesis, who saw stars early in the semi-final, clocking up 100 Super Rugby appearances.
“It’s not really about myself tomorrow, whether I played 500 or 10 games I think it’s about the team,” says du Pleis.
The Sharks have struck a rich vein of form that kicked in after losing to the lowly Lions.
“I think having that pressure on us and knowing that losing a game we'd be out of the competition, so we're playing play-off rugby week in week out so you know what’s on the line,” says Daniel.
Daniel is part of superb loose trio with number eight Ryan Kankowfski and the find-of-the-season openside Marcel Coetzee.
The Sharks have lost three Super Rugby finals, the most painful in 2007 when they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory going down, 20-19 to the Bulls.
“I just remember getting in my Chevy V8 and driving to my home about 40 minutes out of Durban and it took about 12 minutes cruising home, luckily I didn't die, [it was] unbelievably devastating,” says Plumtree.
The desire to avoid a record fourth loss in a final makes the Sharks formidable opponents.
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