An elusive first win in Hamilton this season and a desire to spoil the party for the desperate Waratahs are spurring the Chiefs ahead of their Super 14 rugby match on Saturday.
The injury-hit Chiefs languish ninth, eight points behind the fourth-placed Reds, as they brace for the Waratahs whose semifinal hopes were dented by the Highlanders in the deep south last weekend.
Aside from injuries which have removed All Blacks Mils Muliaina, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Stephen Donald and Mike Delany from their backline, the Chiefs' awful form at Waikato Stadium has played a big part in their plummet from last year's memorable run to the final in Pretoria.
Four defeats and a 25-25 draw against the lowly Cheetahs a fortnight ago have been their lot in Hamilton, while their only home win was in Mt Maunganui against the Highlanders.
"It certainly has created an edge and it's good to have edges at this time of year. I'm excited about this game because the Waratahs are desperate and it's no-excuse mode for them, they have to have the win," coach Ian Foster said.
"We want to finish strongly and make sure we go away with a great performance at our home stadium."
Foster said his youthful side's performance had lifted a few cogs in the past fortnight when they scored five tries but still couldn't get past the Cheetahs, then gave the in-form Hurricanes a fright before losing 33-27 in Wellington last Saturday.
Goalkicking cost them victory in both, but Foster said stand-in No 10 Callum Bruce would retain the kicking tee this week despite his crucial late miss in Wellington.
"Against the Cheetahs we had nought out of eight and last week we had three out of seven so I call that an improvement," Foster quipped.
"If he (Bruce) had kicked that goal with three minutes to go he would have been a hero and we wouldn't be discussing goalkicking so much. Clearly it is an issue, it's hurt us the last two weeks. Callum's working hard on it and we've got to keep backing him."
Foster largely kept faith with his side this week, with lock Kevin O'Neill making a welcome return in the only change to the starting lineup.
O'Neill hasn't started since suffering a lingering Achilles tendon injury midway through their first round game against the Sharks, and replaces Culum Retallick.
Foster expected a concerted attack from the Waratahs at the Chiefs' set piece, and O'Neill would provide welcome experience at the scrum and lineout.
The Waratahs crossed the Tasman in fifth spot, one point behind the Reds, after a listless 26-10 defeat in chilly Invercargill.
"The Waratahs probably aren't the only ones who don't want to go to Invercargill in May when the southerly comes. It's not the easiest place to play. I don't think the conditions changed the Highlanders' gameplan much but it did expose the Waratahs," Foster said.
"We've certainly picked some stuff up but the Waratahs also would have learned a lot. They've spoken about the need to get physical, and they didn't like getting dominated. We're expecting a very desperate Waratahs side."
Foster said the injury toll had a positive spinoff for his side looking ahead 12 months, with the likes of Retallick, Jackson Willison, Toby Smith, Ben Afeaki, Luke Braid and classy fullback Tim Nanai-Williams all proving they can take the next step up to Super 14 level.
