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Watch: McKenzie the standout again as he scorers the winner in the last minute
By Finn Morton
Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie has won the match against the Blues with a try late, after an impressive break from Number Eight Luke Jacobson.
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Jacobson made a brilliant burst through the Blues defensive line, before getting an offload off.
McKenzie then got the ball, and backed himself to get to the line as he bounced off Blues defenders. Considering his try-saving tackle in the first-half, it wouldn’t be unfair to call him the player of the match.
Less than two minutes to go. Down by 4. Then Luke Jacobson & Damian McKenzie do this …@ChiefsRugby + @skysportnz #CHIvBLU #SkySuperRugbyAotearoa pic.twitter.com/1LLxL5kaOK
— Super Rugby (@SuperRugbyNZ) March 27, 2021
But this match was filled with plenty of drama, from start to finish.
The second-half started with a Damian McKenzie penalty, which was the Chiefs first points of the night.
Still trailing by four points though, they came close to scoring earlier in the half through centre Anton Lienert-Brown, who came agonising close to scoring. But the try was instead ruled out by the TMO, with 25-year-old gathering the ball, dropping it, gathering it again before finally dropping it once more.
But the Chiefs weren’t done.
Hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho gave the Chiefs the lead for the first time in the match with just over 20-minutes to play. Damian McKenzie couldn’t quite slot the conversion though, pushing the kick left.
With the Blues trailing, but only just, the match was there for the taking as they entered the last quarter of action.
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From the kick-off that followed, Sam Cane was penalised, but Otere Black missed what would’ve been a go-ahead shot at goal.
But soon after, the Blues began to look really good on attack once again. Caleb Clarke made a roughly 20-metre break down the left-wing before the ball was sent wide right – finding Robinson.
Down by one, the Blues replacement got the ball just short of 40-metres out from the line. Stepping off his right foot, he went straight through the Chiefs defensive line, eventually finding himself in open space.
Chiefs scrumhalf Brad Weber put up a solid chase, but couldn’t quite reel down Robinson.
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For a player who’s listed on the Blues website at 198cm tall, and weighs 110kg, this was an incredible effort. He showed great versatility in this passage of play, but generally brought great impact to the Blues coming off the bench.
A try in the last minute to fullback Damian McKenzie saw the Chiefs win an all-time classic against the Blues, 15-12.#CHIvBLU #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/TCjIwbnGsT
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 27, 2021
The rest of the match was tense to say the least
The Blues had a try ruled out by the TMO, but the Chiefs never quite gave up.
Then at the death, Number Eight Luke Jacobson laid the platform for the winning try, which was scored by McKenzie.
It’s a crucial win for both sides in the context of this season.
