Following the Chiefs’ 19-6 Super Rugby Pacific semi-final victory over the Brumbies, here are our five takeaways from the closely-fought clash.
A real playoff
Don’t let the scoreline fool you; this was as tight as they get. Brodie Retallick’s late try, created and converted by star man Damian McKenzie, in the match’s dying moments sealed the Waikato men’s passage into the final, but up until that point it was anyone’s game to win.
Unlike the Crusaders-Blues semi-final just 24 hours prior, this was a classic playoff match with both sides going hammer and tongs at one another with no quarter given. In the end, the New Zealanders came out on top, which is almost tradition now in the competition, with the Brumbies‘ loss to the Chiefs meaning that the Australian sides have failed to beat their Trans-Tasman rivals in their last 16 finals games.
A one-try rugby match can often be described as a snooze-fest, and if you just took a peek at the scoresheet, one cannot be blamed for assuming this was no different with Retallick scoring the first five-pointer in the 78th minute, but that cannot be farther from the truth.
Despite the testing conditions, both sides showed attacking endeavour and looked to put on an attacking show. Even in the slippery conditions, we had to wait 18 minutes for the first scrum of the match, and even the set-piece was an exciting battle.
Before the match, Brumbies captain Nic White said that his side was going to ‘throw the kitchen sink’ at the Chiefs and to their credit, they did, but that was not enough in the end.
Heroic defence
Heading into the game, the Brumbies had the second-best conversion rate per 22 entry in the competition (2.9 points per entry), while the Chiefs conceded the second-fewest points per opposition entry into their final quarter.
This previewed what would be a furious battle in the Kiwi side’s 22, which the Chiefs’ ultimately won through a fantastic defensive performance.
While the Chiefs’ stepped up at the set-pieces, the overall defensive performance to deny the Brumbies repeatedly was simply outstanding. In fact, throughout the 80 minutes, they missed a grand total of nine tackles! In stark contrast, Brumbies lock Nick Frost missed seven, and his side more than tripled the victor’s tally missing 34.
All Blacks’ Anton Lienert-Brown, Luke Jacobson, Sam Cane and Samisoni Taukei’aho led the charge without the ball, making 14 tackles or more each.
The Brumbies looked sure to score in the early stages of the match, putting Clayton McMillan’s side under immense pressure, but the regular season table-toppers remained resolute and showed incredible determination and fitness to stay that way until the final whistle.
Fine margins
Such closely fought encounters will often come down to the smallest margins, and Saturday’s semi-final was no different.
There were several instances of players on both sides being held up over the line, and while the number of handling errors was low considering the conditions, a few scoring opportunities did go abegging.
Notably, Shaun Stevenson sprinted into space down the left touchline just before half-time only to produce a poor pass to Emoni Nawara, who could not hold onto the ball in a threatening position.
Jacobson also lost the ball in contact near the Brumbies’ whitewash on the stroke of half-time as the Chiefs failed to capitalise on a frankly appalling goal-line dropout from Tom Wright.
Even the match-winning try was one scored from the finest of margins. Damian McKenzie managed to slip the tackle of the otherwise excellent Tom Hooper. The Chiefs star threaded his pass to Stevenson with four players closing in on him. Lienert-Brown almost knocked on Stevenson’s blind offload, but McKenzie was on hand to scoop it up. Replacement scrum-half Cortez Ratima even had a slight slip before delivering the final pass to Retallick to hammer home the final blow.
Chiefs pack steps up
The Brumbies’ are renowned for their well-oiled driving maul machine, but on Saturday, they got little purchase from the tactic as the Chiefs did their homework ahead of the semi-final.
The lineout has been the Brumbies’ most profitable source for tries this season, and no other team averaged more tries per game from the set-piece than Stephen Larkham’s side. Understanding the threat, the Chiefs did their utmost to deny them a solid platform to launch from.
Retallick, Tupou Vaa’i and the superb Jacobson played a crucial role in stifling the Brumbies’ maul, while Cane’s disruptive breakdown performance kept the Australians at bay.
While the aforementioned quartet were the cornerstone of the Chiefs’ pack performance on Saturday, Taukei’aho, Aidan Ross and George Dyer deserve their plaudits for big shifts in the front-row.
McMillan boldly decided to leave Irish international John Ryan on the bench, but the gamble paid off, with the Chiefs’ replacements gaining the ascendency in the scrums in the latter stages, proving crucial in the win.
Best of 2023 clash in the final
Former All Blacks boss Sir Steve Hansen bemoaned the predictability of Super Rugby Pacific earlier in the week and will feel vindicated with the competition’s two best sides reaching the showpiece event.
After this weekend’s action, the Crusaders do look to be the favourites despite the Chiefs’ form this season, particularly at home. However, anything can happen in finals rugby and the Chiefs side looks to be the best equipped to end the Crusaders’ hold on the Super Rugby title than more recent contenders.
A mouth-watering clash awaits next weekend in Hamilton as the clinical Crusaders take on the hard-headed Chiefs in what could be one of the greatest Super Rugby finals in the last decade.
READ MORE: Brumbies player ratings: Rob Valetini shines in gutsy semi-final defeat to the Chiefs
The article Chiefs v Brumbies: Five takeaways as the hosts secure Super Rugby Pacific home final after tight tussle appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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