Following the Chiefs’ 25-14 triumph over the Blues in their Super Rugby Pacific clash at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.
The top line
These two teams were Super Rugby Pacific‘s pacesetters during 2024 and this encounter was a highly anticipated one as it was a repeat of last year’s final.
In the end, it was a game of two halves played in atrocious weather conditions with heavy rain coming down intermittently during most of the match.
The Blues adapted better to the conditions initially, although the Chiefs made the brighter start as they spent long periods camped inside the defending champions’ half during the early stages of the first half.
The Chiefs were guilty of overplaying at times and after soaking up the early pressure, the Blues took control of proceedings.
The home side’s dominance was rewarded with a couple of tries from Dalton Papalii and AJ Lam, which were both converted by Beauden Barrett, while Damian McKenzie slotted two penalties for the Chiefs.
That meant the Blues held a 14-6 lead at half-time but things were very different after the break as the Chiefs were dominant for the next 40 minutes. McKenzie soon crossed the whitewash before Leroy Carter also scored a try in the 67th minute.
It was all Chiefs during the game’s closing stages and McKenzie crossed for another converted try which clinched his side’s deserved victory.
Damian McKenzie changes the game after positional switch
McKenzie started at full-back for the visitors and he had a quiet first half but that all changed when he was shifted to fly-half at the start of the second stanza.
The All Blacks playmaker positional switch had an immediate effect with the Chiefs more enterprising on attack and he soon got his team to within three points of the lead with a well-taken try, after running onto a pass from Daniel Rona in the Blues’ 22.
McKenzie proved irrepressible at times as he continued to to be influential as the match progressed and he created several try-scoring opportunities for himself and his team-mates.
In the end, the decision to move the 29-year-old proved a masterstroke from Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan as McKenzie delivered an outstanding attacking display.
He eventually contributed 20 of the Hamilton-based outfit’s points – courtesy of two tries, as many conversions and a couple of penalties – and gained 76 metres from 17 runs which included three clean breaks and 10 defenders beaten.
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Beauden Barrett adds extra dimension to Blues
Barrett missed the Blues’ victorious 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign after taking a sabbatical with Japanese club Toyota Verblitz but his return is a boost for the champions and that was evident from the outset of this encounter.
Like fellow All Black McKenzie, the 33-year-old started this game at full-back but he was much more influential in that position than his counterpart, especially in the opening half when he caught the eye with some deft touches on attack.
Barrett asked several questions of the Chiefs defence during that period and showed off his vast array of skills as we saw attacking runs, cross-kicks, grubber kicks and skip passes which created opportunities for his team-mates.
While Harry Plummer guided the home side to last year’s title, he had little influence on this game and Barrett showed that he brings an extra dimension to the Blues’ attack.
Although he had some good moments at full-back, he should be brought closer to the action from the fly-half position during the rest of the Blues’ Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Chiefs’ All Blacks bench impact decisive
McMillan sprung a surprise by going into this match with five All Blacks in Samipeni Finau, Tupou Vaa’i, Cortez Ratima, Anton Lienert-Brown and Emoni Narawa on the Chiefs’ replacements bench and the quintet certainly made a positive impact when they took to the field during the second half.
While McKenzie provided the spark which the Chiefs desperately needed, his aforementioned fellow All Blacks were not far behind as their experience made a big different off the bench.
While all five were prominent on attack – with Narawa leading the way with 60 attacking metres gained in just 30 minutes – they also caught the eye in other facets of play.
Ratima deserves special praise as he was responsible for one of the highlights of this match when he prevented Blues excitement machine Mark Telea from bringing the home side back into the match with a superb sliding try-saving tackle.
Blues’ ill discipline proves costly
Although the Chiefs deserve plenty of credit for the way they turned things around in the second half, the Blues were there own worst enemy at times as their discipline let them down at crucial stages.
This was particularly evident in the 62nd minute when they lost replacement front-row Josh Fusitua after he was sent to the sin bin when he connected with Finau’s head in the tackle and the Chiefs made full use of their numerical advantage.
At the time, the Blues held a 14-11 lead but the visitors were soon rewarded when Carter crossed for his try which was converted by McKenzie.
With their tails up, the Chiefs never relinquished their lead and were deserved winners in the end while the Blues were left to contemplate what could have been.
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