Damian McKenzie showed who was boss Saturday as the Chiefs hammered the Sunwolves 61-10 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.

The mercurial flyhalf bagged two tries and kicked eight conversions as the Hamilton, New Zealand-based franchise improved their record for the 2018 Super Rugby season to three wins and one loss, while the Sunwolves went down to their fifth straight defeat.

McKenzie -- who stands 1.75 meters and weighs in at 81 kilograms -- showed Japanese fans in the crowd of 13,464 that size, or lack of it, is no handicap if you work hard on your skills and make the most of your natural talent.

He would be the first, however, to acknowledge his job was made somewhat easier by the work of his bigger, taller forwards, in particular Brodie Retallick and Tyler Ardron.

The two locks -- the former an All Black and the latter a Canadian international -- scored the first two tries within 11 minutes and their mobility, strength and power laid the foundations from which McKenzie was able to run the show.

"In the first half we had a few soft moments and the Chiefs scored three or four tries," rued Sunwolves captain Willie Britz. "We were on the chase after that and playing catch-up rugby is always difficult."

His Chiefs counterpart Sam Cane agreed the good start had helped his team's cause.

"We managed to come out and put points on them early and the way we kept the scoreboard ticking over was something I'm really happy about," the All Blacks flanker said.

With the Sunwolves struggling to get any possession and the first-up tackles not stopping the Chiefs, McKenzie was allowed to mix his game up, allowing Nathan Harris and Solomona Alaimalo to make it 28-0 with just 19 minutes on the clock.

To their credit, the Sunwolves ended the first half better with Semisi Masirewa scoring on debut and Hosea Saumaki adding to his growing reputation with another good solo effort straight after the break.

But that was as good as it got for the hosts.

McKenzie crossed the chalk twice either side of a second five-pointer from Alaimalo before Liam Polwart and Sean Wainui wrapped up the scoring.

"I don't think we let him play freely," Sunwolves coach Jamie Joseph said when asked about the impact McKenzie had had on the game.

"At times we put him under pressure but we missed tackles and you can't do that to quality players like Mr. McKenzie, and some of the other Chiefs."

The Sunwolves did not help their own cause either with their line-out once again an area of big concern, with Shota Horie missing his jumpers as Retallick, in particular, made his presence felt.

"We had issues with our set piece and lots of little things we need to address with our offense, such as obstruction and what not," Sunwolves flanker Michael Leitch said in Japanese after the game.

"You can't sustain your offense if you can't execute your set pieces. Our line-outs have not been good recently. We've had people coming in and out but everyone needs to be able to execute at a high level."

The Sunwolves -- who made 10 changes and two positional switches following a close defeat against the Lions in Johannesburg last Saturday -- have a bye next week before they take on the Sydney-based Waratahs in Tokyo on April 7.

Flyhalf Yu Tamura said it was crucial the team did not let their losing streak get the better of them.

"The important thing is that we keep the faith, trust in the coaches, and in ourselves. That's our only option at this time," Tamura said.