CHIEFS PAY PRICE FOR DAMIAN MCKENZIE DECISION AS FRONT-ROW’S WONDER TRY INSPIRES CRUSADERS

The Chiefs paid the price for resting star fly-half Damian McKenzie when they suffered a 37-26 defeat against the Crusaders in Friday’s Super Rugby Pacific clash in Christchurch.

The result was a momentous one for the defending champions as it meant they ended their worst-ever run in Super Rugby after they came into this fixture firmly rooted to the bottom of the standings after losing their five previous matches.

The Chiefs will be wondering what could have been and head coach Clayton McMillan will be rueing his decision to omit McKenzie, who has arguably been the best player in Super Rugby Pacific this year with his excellent playmaking skills lighting up the tournament.

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In the end, the Crusaders outscored the Chiefs by five tries to four with a five-pointer from the home side’s young hooker George Bell the highlight of the match.

Former Wales international Johnny McNicholl led the way with a brace of tries while Chay Fihaki and Cullen Grace also crossed the whitewash for the home side. Riley Hohepa slotted two conversions and a penalty for the champions while Rivez Reihana also converted a try and added a three-pointer off the kicking tee.

For the Chiefs, Emoni Narawa, George Dyer, Anton Lienert-Brown and Cortez Ratima scored tries with Josh Ioane (2) and Josh Jacomb succeeding with conversions.

However, it was Bell’s five-pointer early in the second half which set pulses racing at the Apollo Projects Stadium as the front-row displayed the finishing skills of an outside back.

This, after he ran onto a pass from Hohepa close to the Chiefs’ 10-metre line and showed a superb turn of speed which caught his opponents by surprise.

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The 22-year-old burst past four defenders and was soon inside the Chiefs’ 22 where he rounded Jacomb with ease before crossing in the left-hand corner for a deserved try.

That gave the hosts a 27-12 advantage after they made a fine start in the opening half. They raced into a 12-0 lead courtesy of tries from Fihaki and McNicholl, before the Chiefs reduced the deficit when Narawa dotted down.

Grace and Dyer then crossed the whitewash before Hohepa slotted a penalty to give the Crusaders a 22-12 lead at half-time. After Bell’s five-pointer, the Chiefs narrowed the gap to eight points when Lienert-Brown scored a converted try on the hour mark.

McNicholl then extended his side’s lead when he crossed for his second try in the 65th minute, with Reihana adding the extras, but the Chiefs would not surrender and were rewarded when Ratima scored their fourth try five minutes later.

That meant it would be a nervy finish for the home side but they clinched their maiden win of the season in the game’s closing stages when Reihana slotted his penalty.

The teams

Crusaders: 15 Chay Fihaki, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Levi Aumua, 12 Dallas McLeod, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Riley Hohepa, 9 Mitchell Drummond (c), 8 Cullen Grace, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Corey Kellow, 5 Jamie Hannah, 4 Quinten Strange, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 George Bell, 1 George Bower

Replacements: 16 James Mullen, 17 Kershawl Sykes Martin, 18 Owen Franks, 19 Dominic Gardiner, 20 Fletcher Anderson, 21 Noah Hotham, 22 Rivez Reihana, 23 Macca Springer

Chiefs: 15 Shaun Stevenson, 14 Emoni Narawa, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 10 Josh Jacomb, 9 Xavier Roe, 8 Luke Jacobson, 7 Kaylum Boshier, 6 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 5 Josh Lord, 4 Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 3 George Dyer, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Aidan Ross

Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Jared Proffit, 18 Reuben O’Neill, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 Simon Parker 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Daniel Rona

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

Assistant Referees: Dan Waenga (New Zealand), Mike Winter (New Zealand)

TMO: Aaron Paterson (New Zealand)

2024-03-29T10:35:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd