Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Chiefs player ratings vs Hurricanes | Super Rugby Aotearoa

Damian McKenzie. (Photo by Marty Melville/Photosport)

It’s taken 12 matches – including eight in last year’s competition – for the Chiefs to finally taste victory in a Super Rugby Aotearoa match.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Hurricanes looked odds-on to extend the Chiefs’ losing streak, taking a 26-7 lead into half-time, but the away side were hungrier in the second stanza and mounted an exceptional comeback.

Come the 80th minute, it was the Chiefs who held the lead, ultimately triumphing 35-29.

Who were the victorious side’s best performers on the night?

1. Aidan Ross – 6.5/10
Penalised once at the maul but was immovable at scrum-time. That solid platform ultimately kept the Chiefs in the game and allowed the big comeback.

Video Spacer

The panel from the Aotearoa Rugby Pod look at the way Richie Mo’unga is playing and how it should be a promising sign for anyone the All Blacks 2021 campaign and onward.

Video Spacer

The panel from the Aotearoa Rugby Pod look at the way Richie Mo’unga is playing and how it should be a promising sign for anyone the All Blacks 2021 campaign and onward.

2. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 8.5
Once again, a key metre-eater for the Chiefs. Ran a great line and threw a perfect offload to create Kaleb Trask’s try. Perfect record at the lineouts. Has stepped up his game from last year. Off in 68th minute.

3. Angus Ta’avao – 7
Won a hugely important scrum penalty when the Hurricanes looked likely and, otherwise, looked considerably safer than last week against the Crusaders. Off in 68th minute.

4. Tupou Vaa’i – 8
Absolutely mammoth shift on attack, making 11 carries in his restricted time on the park. We saw last year how much raw potential Vaa’i has but tonight’s effort was a coming of age performance for the 21-year-old. Off in 47th minute for an HIA but never returned to the field.

5. Naitoa Ah Kuoi – 8
Not as destructive as his locking partner but still willing on attack, making 13 carries, and never shied away from contact. Industrious on defence – the yin to Vaa’i’s yang. Worthy of his late-game meat pie that momentarily tied up the scores and then threw the last pass for the Chiefs’ final try of the game.

ADVERTISEMENT

6. Mitch Brown – 6
Copped a few hefty shots and made a few momentum-halting hits of his own. An understated performance. Off in 68th minute.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by RugbyPass (@rugbypass)

7. Sam Cane – 8
Showed a lot more on offence than what we’re probably used to, regularly popping up on attack in the midfield, and was his typical on defence, notching 13 tackles. A couple of nice runs early, including one gallop out wide – but was then immediately pinged for not releasing the ball. Trusted his side to convert a penalty into a try and was duly rewarded.

ADVERTISEMENT

8. Luke Jacobson – 7.5
Great steal five metres from the goal line temporarily prevented the Hurricanes from increasing their lead. Superb final five minutes, scored the final try and then secured the penalty that ultimately locked in the win.

9. Brad Weber – 7
Relatively quiet in the first half bar one lovely early run off a scrum. Came to life in the second. Sneaky lineout move on halftime almost produced a try and finally got himself on the scoreboard in the final stages of the third quarter after making a great supporting run. Off in 71st minute.

10. Kaleb Trask – 7
Regularly challenged the line and offered more on attack than Bryn Gatland in the past two weeks but wasn’t as composed as his more senior teammate. A nice support line off Taukei’aho’s run earned him the Chiefs’ first try of the night. A horrific dropped ball from Luke Campbell’s box kick directly led to Salesi Rayasi’s score. Poor decision to kick off his weak foot and hand the Hurricanes a 5-metre lineout instead of taking the goal-line drop-out cost the Chiefs another five points. Off in 52nd minute.

11. Etene Nanai-Seturo – 3
Completely shut down on attack and was found out on defence. Needed to be quicker to support Damian McKenzie when he took a high ball – the result was a penalty to the Hurricanes. Bad read immediately after his side’s first score meant Ngani Laumape had acres of space to work with and ultimately led to the Ricky Riccitelli try. At fault again for Salesi Rayasi’s second try. Off in 61st minute.

12. Quinn Tupaea – 7.5
The Chiefs’ number one back option for churning metres on attack and also their busiest tackler, with 14 to his name. Nice effort after the Hurricanes’ first try to win the ball back from kick-off. Penalised for going off his feet right after the Chiefs had recovered from some heavy assaults on the line and the Hurricanes scored from the ensuing lineout. Nice bust moments later gave the Chiefs the field position they needed to mount an attack.

13. Anton Lienert-Brown – 6
Distributed well but wasn’t up to his usual high standards – especially on defence. His miss on Jordie Barrett was what gave the Hurricanes fullback the space he needed to set up his side’s first try. As with Nanai-Seturo, was close enough to offer support to McKenzie early but didn’t have the necessary urgency.

14. Jonah Lowe – 7
Less dynamic than in his first appearance of the season, against the Highlanders, but still kept the Hurricanes honest. A few handy runs. Great work to keep a Jordie Barrett penalty kick for the sideline from finding touch. There’s something very likeable about the way Lowe goes about his business.

15. Damian McKenzie – 9
Courageous on attack, courageous on defence. Looked good when he stepped into first receiver at various points throughout the match, and then full-time in the final half-hour. Threw some lovely skip passes to put players into space. Only blemish was a poor kick out on the full that prevented the Chiefs from building any pressure in the early stages of the second quarter – and the Hurricanes scored from their next possession. Classic counter-attack set up the Chiefs’ third try of the evening. Outplayed Jordie Barrett and nailed all of his kicks at goal bar the final penalty.

Reserves:

16. Bradley Slater – N/A

On in 68th minute.

17. Ollie Norris – N/A

On in 56th minute.

18. Joe Apikotoa – N/A

On in 68th minute for his debut.

19. Samipeni Finau – 6

On in 47th minute. Continued the solid work of Vaa’i on attack and was safe at lineout time.

20. Simon Parker – N/A

On in 68th minute.

21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi – N/A

On in 71st minute.

22. Alex Nankivell – 5.5

On in 61st minute. Conceded a silly penalty not long after the Chiefs had taken the lead.

23. Chase Tiatia – 8.5

On in 52nd minute. Huge impact. Scored a try with his first touch and then played a major role in the Chiefs’ third, moments later, making a brilliant run and offloading to keep the ball alive. Put in some excellent returns from kick-offs.

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ The joy, spirit and obstacles of the rugby pilgrim The joy, spirit and obstacles of the rugby pilgrim
Search