Chiefs vs Crusaders: The Chiefs of concrete shoulders and empowerment

The Chiefs left nothing to the imagination in another second-half flurry that saw them run away as 49-24 victors over old foes the Crusaders in Hamilton.

The usual suspects stepped up to the plate and showed out in the Chiefs’ first home game of the season, giving fans plenty to cheer about with five tries coming in just a 23-minute period late in the piece.

Here are four takeaways from the Chiefs win.

Depth is king

Last week Chiefs head coach Clayton McMillan named six All Blacks on the bench to face the Blues. Following a second-half defensive shutout and attacking splurge that saw them emerge victors, the coach explained that due to his international players’ extended summer breaks – as mandated by All Blacks rest policy – he had opted to leave the stars on the bench for fitness reasons.

This week, the coach named three All Blacks on the bench, one of whom, Quinn Tupaea, came into the contest in just the eighth minute after an injury to Rameka Poihipi. Still, with that class and experience on the bench, the Chiefs again ran away with the game late.

Even in the wake of key departures from Sam Cane, Alex Nankivell, Pita Gus Sowakula, Brodie Retallic, and Brad Weber, plus the absences of players like Shaun Stevenson, Wallace Sititi, Samisoni Taukei’aho and Etene Nanai-Seturo for various reasons, this Chiefs squad is more than comfortable with All Blacks on the bench.

As the All Blacks learnt last year, and as the Springboks have been demonstrating for some time now, distributing your experience and game-breaking talent across the matchday 23 is a luxury that sees the rich get richer. The Chiefs are rich in talent, and now rich in results too.

Concrete shoulders

The Chiefs’ defence was stinging the Crusaders early in this game, with rib tickler after rib tickler sending the Crusaders back whence they came.

Following their opening try of the game, the Chiefs’ defence was out to make a statement with their sixth-minute stand near the halfway line. Young Crusaders hooker Ioane Moananu caught the pill flat-footed with Simon Parker right in his face and proceeded to get driven back, making a near 10-metre loss from the position of the previous ruck.

Will Jordan injected himself into the line to get his side moving in the right direction again, but on the following phase Scott Barrett was tackled as he dropped a short ball to Ethan Blackadder who was thrown into the dirt by debutant Jahrome Brown, and with his support player also on the ground, Blackadder was forced to throw the ball backwards to save his side from losing possession.

Two phases later Blackadder was smoked again, this time by Tupou Vaa’i, and this time the loose forward lost the ball as he hit the ground with a thump.

The Chiefs’ line speed rarely gave the Crusaders a chance to hit contact with any momentum. Some of the best ball-runners in the business were able to get the Crusaders on the front foot, but it demanded a lot of the X-factor players. Unless it was an opportunistic injection from Will Jordan, a straight line from Tamaiti Williams or an evasive yet physical hit-up from Christian Lio-Willie, the Crusaders were struggling to reach the gain line.

Player Dominant Tackles

1

Samipeni Finau

3

2

David Havili

3

3

Xavier Roe

2

The Taha Kemara breakout is loading

Last year, Taha Kemara appeared in each of the three opening games of the Crusaders’ season. he was then dropped and only appeared off the bench in rounds 13 and 14. It’s safe to say the 21-year-old won’t suffer the same fate this year.

Friday night’s game was a homecoming for the Waikato local but started terribly when Kemara’s kickoff landed in touch. Given the first receiver responsibilities were handed largely to captain David Havili in round one, the first-up error suggested the Crusaders were covering deficiencies in the youngster’s game and would have to do so in various aspects of the game if they were to keep him on the field.

In open play, however, Kemara shone. His quick feet and natural attacking instincts got his team going forward throughout his 45 minutes on the park.

In the 20th minute, a burst of speed saw Kemara create enough space to glide past All Black Emoni Narawa in the first instance before a dummy drew the commitment of Josh Jacomb and an offload set Cullen Grace away down the touchline. This time it was Will Jordan who was playmaking behind the first pod and drew the defence to afford Kemara space to move. The play resulted in a try to Kyle Preston.

Playing the No. 10 outside of All Blacks playmakers while still occupying many of the traditional No. 10 duties appears to be affording Kemara the game time and confidence to grow at the Super Rugby level, suiting the youngster nicely.

James O’Connor has been full of praise for Kemara since touching down in Christchurch, and it’s easy to see why.

While there are plenty of positives to take out of Kemara’s performances to start the season, a frequent fault has been his chemistry and timing in planned attack plays. The ball has hit the turf on multiple occasions with the former New Zealand U20 playmaker trying to find the right lines to run.

Clayton McMillan is a master of empowerment

While the defence was remarkable, the Chiefs did also break a team record for the most points ever scored against the Crusaders.

One thing that strikes you when watching the Chiefs in recent seasons under McMillan is just how ambitious their attack can be.

We all know what Damian McKenzie is capable of and how giving him free rein to be himself is a very good idea at the Super Rugby level, but that is a tangible theme across the backline for this club.

Etene Nanai-Seturo has had plenty of plays in recent seasons where he has put in a wildly audacious chip kick and, to his credit, come close to tracking them down, but more often than not foiled a strong attacking opportunity only to do the same thing with another chance shortly after.

That doesn’t happen without absolute belief in his ability from his head coach. Looking at the play of Emoni Narawa and newcomer Leroy Carter on Friday night, the belief was evident yet again.

Narawa played plenty of centre during the recent NPC season and his defensive instincts look heightened for the experience, with his field position making life awkward for attack in notoriously difficult defensive scenarios one player out from the edge.

Friday night also showed Narawa’s ability as a breakdown threat and saw him take a quick tap with the leg drive to drag Scott Barrett over the try line. Narawa is again proving, when healthy, that he is in the upper echelon of elite wingers in the global game.

Carter on the other hand has continued his seamless transition from All Blacks Sevens workhorse to All Blacks prospect with another impressive all-around performance and another try.

The robust talent again showed up with try-saving defence when David Havili made a break and set Sevu Reece away with the try line in sight. It was the second consecutive week Carter has stopped an All Black wing from scoring with his immense hustle.