Chiefs vs Reds

Out of the last five matches between Super Rugby Champions the Chiefs and former Champions the Reds the Queenslanders have won three and the Waikato men two.
The draw has turned out quite well for the 2012 Super Rugby champion Chiefs and the 2011 Super Rugby champion Reds as both teams will be coming off a bye last week.
They are placed first and second on the Super Rugby standings and both have 29 points with five wins each.
The last three matches between them have all been won by the Reds and two of those matches were in Hamilton.
The Chiefs and the Reds have played each other in Super Rugby 17 times since 1996 and the Chiefs have won 8 times and the Reds nine. That means the Chiefs have won 47% of their matches against the Reds.
On average across all venues when the Chiefs play the Reds the average score is even at Chiefs 25 Reds 25.
Looking deeper the total number of points scored in these clashes is Chiefs 428 Reds 431 so including decimals the average score is Chiefs 25.17 Reds 25.35.
The Reds therefore have scored more points and won more matches against the Chiefs.
This week the match will be played in Hamilton where the teams have played each other 8 times. From those 8 matches the Chiefs have won 5 or 56% of their matches.
The Chiefs also moved a match in 2001 to Rotorua and won that match. Across both Chiefs home venues the average score when the teams meet is Chiefs 25 Reds 21.
While the Reds appear to score less when they play away from home against the Chiefs the last two matches in Hamilton were both won by the Reds.
That means the Chiefs have not beaten the Reds at home since 2008.
In terms of selection the Reds have made one change to their team for this week with the flying winger Rod Davies replacing Digby Ioane who misses the match injured.
The Chiefs have made a number of changes for this week but one of their big strengths this season has been the depth of the squad and how well they have handled rotations.
The Reds have played seven matches this year and won five while the Chiefs have played six and won five as well.
The Reds have been gathering pace in recent weeks (before the bye) and the Will Genia/Quade Cooper partnership is starting to look like what it used to be so they are showing plenty of promise.
The Chiefs on the other hand have shown no signs of a drop off from last year's victorious form. Their only loss so far this season was a 2 point loss away from home.