It really is that simple.
Sure, they might need to be wary of dazzling outside backs Shaun Stevenson and Emoni Narawa, and they will want to be on guard if midfielder Quinn Tupaea can exert his physical dominance, and that sevens convert Leroy Carter can be a handful.
They better not sleep on under-rated halfback Xavier Roe, either, especially if he tucks into the shadow of barnstorming loose forward Luke Jacobson.
Hmm. Forgot to mention the Highlanders need to be careful not to let Chiefs enforcer Samipeni Finau exert too much influence on the game, and that world-class lock Tupou Vaa’i is always a danger.
Front row? They have been there and done that, so that is another area for the Highlanders to watch.
That is definitely all the Highlanders need to worry about ... oh.
Yes, that bench.
Just rampaging All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, all-action flanker Kaylum Boshier, dynamite halfback Cortez Ratima, rising star first five Josh Jacomb and a bloke with 84 test caps you might have heard of called Anton Lienert-Brown.
But yeah, keep D-Mac’s magic firmly capped in the bottle and the Highlanders are on their way to a massive shock at Waikato Stadium tonight.
The reality is there are is a reason — several, really — why the Chiefs are rated the best team in the competition by Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph.
They are loaded, experienced, well coached and carrying just a few chips on their shoulders after promising so much in recent seasons but always coming up a little short.
The Chiefs might have had a rare misfire last week, losing to the Waratahs in Sydney, but they remain very much in the Super Rugby Pacific title conversation, and the brutal truth is they will view a home game against the battling Highlanders as just another obstacle on their way to the playoffs.
Recent form highlights the power dynamic between the two sides.
The Chiefs have won the past five clashes with the Highlanders, though only two of those — their 52-28 and 28-7 victories in the 2023 season — were relatively comfortable.
A big challenge for the Highlanders, then.
Are they really up for it? Can they take a little of that confidence they regained from beating the Fijian Drua last weekend and multiply it by about 10?
They will need to be better in a few areas if they are to really shake up the competition.
A bit more class and composure in the red zone would be a good start, and cutting out these annoying lapses that lead to opponents scoring in flurries would be equally nice.
There is genuine potential in this Highlanders team.
A backline with reinstated first five Cameron Millar, back-from-injury fullback Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, a couple of Fijian flyers on the wing and turnover king Timoci Tavatavanawai — it is staggering that his 16 takeaways lead all players in Super Rugby — can do some serious damage.
While the forward pack contains several water-carriers, there is more oomph about it now Hugh Renton is back at No8, and Fabian Holland and Ethan de Groot will be primed for impact to impress the national selectors.
Just six games, including five against New Zealand opposition, remain for the Highlanders, and they might need to win four of them to make the playoffs.
"I’m not sure about the players, but that’s not on my mind — my mind is just on the Chiefs," Joseph said.
"I know that if I can prepare the players to the best of our ability, they’ve got more chance of featuring at the end of the season.
"But it is game by game. And the Chiefs are one of the better teams in the competition, so we have to be on song."
Super Rugby Pacific
Hamilton, 7.05pm
Highlanders: Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Taniela Filimone, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Timoci Tavatavanawai (co-captain), Jona Nareki, Cameron Millar, Folau Fakatava, Hugh Renton (co-captain), Veveni Lasaqa, Oliver Haig, Fabian Holland, Mitch Dunshea, Sefo Kautai, Henry Bell, Ethan de Groot. Reserves: Soane Vikena, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Saula Ma’u, TK Howden, Will Stodart, Adam Lennox, Sam Gilbert, Jonah Lowe.
Chiefs: Shaun Stevenson, Emoni Narawa, Daniel Rona, Quinn Tupaea, Leroy Carter, Damian McKenzie, Xavier Roe, Luke Jacobson (captain), Jahrome Brown, Samipeni Finau, Tupou Vaa’i, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, George Dyer, Brodie McAlister, Aidan Ross. Reserves: Samisoni Taukei’aho, Jared Proffit, Reuben O’Neill, Jimmy Tupou, Kaylum Boshier, Cortez Ratima, Josh Jacomb, Anton Lienert-Brown.
