Perfect 10: Chiefs roll Highlanders 52-28 in record-setting win in Dunedin

At Forsyth Barr Stadium: Chiefs 52 (Emoni Narawa try 20min, Shaun Stevenson try 24min, Anton Lienert-Brown try 28min, George Dyer try 39min, Daniel Rona tries 42min, 60min, Brad Weber try 67min; Damian McKenzie 7 con, pen) Highlanders 28 (Ethan de Groot try 7min, Aaron Smith try 35min, Sam Gilbert try 49min, Shannon Frizell 76min; Sam Gilbert 4 con). HT: 28-14

Yellow card: Ollie Norris (Chiefs) 80min

Shaun Stevenson and Emoni Narawa have ensured their names remain front and centre of Ian Foster’s mind after the duo dazzled in Dunedin as the Chiefs made history against the hapless Highlanders.

Having name-checked the uncapped pair a couple of weeks ago, such had been their hot touch, the All Blacks coach can now surely be making room in his World Cup squad for the brilliant-performing outside backs, who played a huge part in their side’s 52-28 Super Rugby Pacific bonus-point win at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday night.

Already the top tryscorer in the competition, Stevenson added a 10th to his tally, and his golden fingerprints were on absolutely everything, despite a forced switch from fullback to the left wing in the opening quarter, while out on the other side Narawa continued his immense season, with his stunning try to open the visitors’ scoring an absolute sight to behold.

In a match where Anton Lienert-Brown celebrated a return from a round-one ankle injury and also his 100th Chiefs cap (which was iced with a try in his 50-minute stint), and Damian McKenzie bagged 17 points in a 100% effort off the tee which saw the Chiefs’ top points scorer in history surpass 1000 (the fourth Kiwi to do so), the club also added to their own record books.

Not only was it their highest-ever score against the Highlanders (beating the 50 they scored in 2001 in Rotorua), but it was also their 10th-straight win, breaking the nine they logged in their maiden title-winning season of 2012.

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