The Chiefs had to rely on a late penalty try to claim a hard-fought 21-19 win over the Blues in Hamilton on Saturday. CRAIG LEWIS reports.
Another New Zealand derby, another compelling affair. Although this clash certainly wasn’t filled with immense quality or plenty of points, the closely-fought nature of the battle made for an intriguing encounter.
In the end, it was the Chiefs who emerged as deserved and expected victors after producing a dominant second-half performance that enabled them to overturn a five-point deficit and claim a win that sees them move into second spot in the New Zealand conference.
The Blues had made a handy start to the proceedings as Stephen Perofeta slotted a couple of early penalties, but it didn’t take long for the Chiefs to work their way into the contest.
In fact, the opening quarter saw the Chiefs enjoy a considerable 79% of possession. The Blues were forced to make 45 tackles, while they missed as many as 13.
Yet, for all of the Chiefs’ early dominance, the hosts only managed to produce one try to Sean Wainui, although it was a particularly special effort as Damian McKenzie delivered a stunning offload to set up the five-pointer.
Despite the amount of time the Blues had spent on defence, it would be the visitors who surprisingly finished the half with greater urgency, and a try to James Parsons followed by a couple more penalties to Perofeta suddenly sent them into a surprise 19-14 lead.
The break did seem to serve the Chiefs well, and they started the second stanza with real intent, but ill-discipline – they conceded eight penalties in the first 45 minutes – and poor handling continued to disrupt their momentum.
With the Chiefs squandering a host of opportunities, it meant the score remained unchanged heading into the final quarter, but the pressure building on the Blues eventually saw Joshua Goodhue sent to the sin bin after repeated infringements.
The Chiefs had also established complete ascendancy at scrum time in the second half, and it was from this dominant set piece that they were eventually awarded a penalty try, which finally took them into a two-point lead.
From there, the Chiefs held on for a victory that sees them stretch an undefeated run against the Blues to 14 games.
Chiefs – Tries: Sean Wainui, penalty try. Penalties: Damian McKenzie (3).
Blues – Try: James Parsons. Conversion: Perofeta. Penalties: Stephen Perofeta (4).
Chiefs – 15 Solomon Alaimalo, 14 Toni Pulu, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Johnny Faauli, 11 Sean Wainui, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 8 Pita Gus Sowakula, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Lachlan Boshier, 5 Tyler Ardron, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Aidan Ross.
Subs: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Jeff Thwaites, 19 Luke Jacobson, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Jonathan Taumateine, 22 Charlie Ngatai, 23 Marty McKenzie.
Blues – 15 Michael Collins, 14 Matt Duffie/Jordan Hyland, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 TJ Faiane, 11 George Moala, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Jonathan Ruru, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Kara Pryor, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Josh Goodhue, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 2 James Parsons (c), 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Subs: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Ross Wright, 18 Mike Tamoaieta, 19 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 Orbyn Leger.
Photo: Dave Rowland/Getty Images
