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‘It didn’t look good’: Chiefs coach provides update on injured All Black
By Finn Morton
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan expects fullback Shaun Stevenson to miss “a couple of weeks” after the one-Test All Black picked up what appeared to be a hamstring injury during the 38-22 win over the Waratahs on Friday.
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Following a dominant opening quarter from the Waratahs at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, Stevenson’s individual brilliance helped inspire the Chiefs’ comeback as the visitors began to chip away at the Tahs’ imposing 12 point deficit.
With the Chiefs down a man after Etene Nanai-Seturo was shown a yellow card, Stevenson got the ball about 40 metres out for the try line but was good enough to turn the play into something special by weaving through a gap in midfield.
The man known as ‘Shooter’ beat Waratahs first five Tane Edmed on the inside with a right foot step which saw the outside back run into the house untouched. But unfortunately for the Chiefs, Stevenson pulled up worse for wear and was replaced.
Stevenson grabbed his right hamstring as he placed the ball down for the score, and after receiving some medical treatment in the in-goal area, the prolific try scorer limped off the field for what might be the last time for a short while.
“It didn’t look good,” coach Clayton McMillan told reporters. “It didn’t look good right from the outset and I imagine that he’ll be out for at least a couple of weeks.
“I would think he wouldn’t have come off if it wasn’t serious.
“We’ve also had an injury to Jimmy Tupou. Looks like he’s got a fractured eye socket so it’s just another example of the game being physical by nature and sometimes injuries are going to happen.
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“It’s unfortunate because I thought he was pretty integral to a lot of the good stuff that we did today.”
Stevenson’s much-needed try in the 22nd minute helped breathe new life into the Chiefs as they begun to take control of the contest. The visitors started to look much more threatening as Damian McKenzie started to have more of a say.
McKenzie, who is widely considered the front-runner to wear the All Blacks’ No.10 jersey, sent winger Emoni Narawa over for a score just before the break with a sensational cut-out pass. Narawa was good enough to beat the covering defensive effort from Max Jorgensen.
The Chiefs levelled the score at 12-all with that Narawa effort, but took things to an all-new level in the second term as they crossed for four tries to the Waratahs’ one. It was a bit of a grind but the Chiefs did enough to secure a bonus point win.
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“(We) really challenged our guys around being physical, especially early, and I think both teams came with that mindset,” McMillan said.
“We’re winning that battle but paid the price early.
“We stayed composed and got a couple of opportunities late in the first half that got us back to an even ball game and we were happy with that.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for the Waratahs,” he added. “We feel like they’re a better team than what the ladder shows.
“Every time we’ve played them they’re a big side, a physical side, and the games that they’ve won against the Crusaders (this season) have been built around that.
“Really respected what they were going to bring to the table but more than anything we were unhappy with that aspect of our game against the Hurricanes so it was an opportunity over our bye week to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if that’s the sort of rugby that we want to see in the Chiefs jersey.
“I don’t think too many people wanted to see that so it was good to see a response today.”
