The Sunwolves will leave New Zealand with a bonus point after a 27-20 loss to the Chiefs in Super Rugby on Saturday.

Unable to make the most of their possession, the Sunwolves, down to 13 men for the final moments, held up an attempted try to end the game and seize a point for losing by seven points or less.

Although it was another defeat, strong scrums and line-outs by head coach Filo Tiatia side prevented a beating such as the ones suffered to the Crusaders (50-3) and the Highlanders (40-15).

"I believe we have developed, both technically and mentally through this (trip)," fullback Kotaro Matsushima said. "We had a chance to draw this game. We had a chance to win it."

The Chiefs took advantage of some early nerves by the Sunwolves in front of their own try line. A clearance went straight up in the air and the hosts capitalized soon after with a Hikawera Elliot try on a pick and go.

Eager to add to their advantage, the Chiefs were quickly back in business, only to turn the ball over on a penalty that led to 13 minutes of sustained pressure by the Sunwolves. A great run by Hayden Cripps and a missed tackle put the Chiefs' back to the wall, but despite being penalized repeatedly they survived the threat

Twice turning down easy penalty kicks to go for a try, the Sunwolves once had the ball over the try line, but were held up and eventually lost the ball when penalized for their scrum.

The Sunwolves didn't look the gift horse in the mouth again, however, Cripps putting the visitors on the board after 20 minutes with a penalty.

But poor tackling by the Sunwolves pushed them backward in disarray and a lovely pass by Damian McKenzie set up Solomona Alaimalo for a 24th-minute try that made it 10-3.

Within 10 minutes, McKenzie made amends for two missed conversions by kicking a penalty. He then single-handedly made it 20-3 at the half.

Taking an ordinary pass on the left, McKenzie embarked on a sparkling touchline run, dodging two defenders like they were standing still before skidding across the whitewash and kicking the conversion from a tough angle.

With some solid work from the pack, the Sunwolves finally got the try they longed for at the start of the second half, with Fumiaki Tanaka diving over after a scrum in front of the Chiefs' line. With Cripps out of the game hurt, Jamie-Jerry Taulagi converted to make it 20-10.

It appeared the Sunwolves would dominate possession in the second half as well, but missed penalties by Taulagi and Yu Tamura meant the visitors' efforts once more went for naught.

With that reprieve, McKenzie unleashed another electric try and a conversion that might have taken some of the wind out of the Sunwolves' sails. But the visitors showed that was not the case.

Although the Sunwolves' strong inside passes had been well defended for an hour, the visitors caught the Chiefs napping in the 66th minute, springing Derek Carpenter for a nice try, with Taulagi converting to make it 27-17.

A 74th-minute Taulagi penalty narrowed the gap, but the Chiefs dominated the final minutes, searching desperately for the try needed for a bonus point. After the hooter, Carpenter was yellow carded for a deliberate knock down, and Taulagi was shown red after flooring an opponent with a shoulder charge.

==Kyodo