Chiefs captain Craig Clarke said that their 33-14 victory over the Hurricanes went to plan as they remained unbeaten in their last eight matches.

The Highlanders beat the Chiefs 28-20 in the opening round in Hamilton but after that loss the Chiefs have not looked back and have swept everyone else aside.

"I'm just happy we could get a win and keep the ball rolling," said Clarke, who played his 50th Super Rugby match.

"They're a very good team and we just wanted to hold the ball, which we did a bit, and kick a few penalties."

The loss for the Hurricanes was their fifth in nine matches but was by no measure a bad performance. They were just simply outplayed.

"We were pretty happy with the way the first half went," Hurricanes captain Conrad Smith said.

"A few things didn't go our way ... but we were still in the hunt."

"If anything they turned it up in the second half, and I think we fell away a bit which is a little bit annoying."