Super Rugby Pacific: Five takeaways from Chiefs v Blues

Following the Chiefs’ 20-13 triumph over Blues in Hamilton on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the action.

Damian McKenzie continues to shine at 10

The Chiefs playmaker is equally at home at full-back, but he has featured mostly at fly-half for the Chiefs in Super Rugby Pacific this season and showed against the Blues that he’s best suited to the pivot position.

McKenzie is a genuine attacking threat who – once again – caught the eye with his excellent playmaking skills while his game management also impressed as it put his team on the front foot for most of the match while his kicking – out of hand and at goal – was of a high standard.

While his versatility is one of his strengths, the Chiefs are reaping the rewards from his brilliant play at fly-half, and if he continues in this vein, he should be challenging for the All Blacks number 10 jersey later this year.

Chiefs’ kicking game and defence sets up their win

Although the Chiefs have plenty of excitement machines like McKenzie, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Emoni Narawa and Shaun Stevenson, it’s not just about running the ball at every opportunity.

What was evident against the Blues is that they play in the right areas of the field, and that is where their kicking game is so crucial to their success. McKenzie obviously led the way as he put his team on the attack with kicking out of hand, while Brad Weber, Stevenson and Rameka Poihipi also caught the eye with some well-placed kicks.

Adding to that, Super Rugby Pacific‘s table-toppers delivered an outstanding defensive effort, especially during the latter part of the second half when they were under great pressure from the Blues, with Sam Cane, Weber and Stevenson all coming to the fore with crucial tackles while the visitors were on the attack deep inside their half.

Sam Cane still a force for the Chiefs

There was plenty of hype around Cane‘s direct battle with fellow openside flank Dalton Papali’i, and if truth be told, the All Blacks skipper was under pressure to perform, with many of his critics saying he should be dropped for Papali’i at Test level.

Both players had good games in Hamilton as they did what was expected of them at the breakdowns, but although Papali’i looked better on attack, Cane outshone him in defence, and that is where this game was won in the end.

The All Blacks skipper was forced off the field in the 62nd minute shortly after hurting himself in contact against Beauden Barrett, but if truth be told, Cane showed that he is still a force for the Chiefs.

His strength at the breakdowns is well documented, but his defensive work against the Blues was of a high standard, and he did well in that department throughout his stint on the field. Cane has good vision on defence and knows where to put himself as a tackler, and those aspects helped the Chiefs over the line in Hamilton.

Blues win the scrum battle

The forward battle was evenly contested throughout, but one area where the men from Auckland’s forwards held an edge was in the scrums, where they impressed throughout.

The Blues made their intentions known from the outset at the set-piece as they held a slight edge in that facet of play and gradually gained the upper-hand as the match progressed.

By the second half, the visitors were dominating the scrums, and they were awarded some penalties, especially on their own throw-ins. Although their entire pack deserve credit for their strong scrummaging, their starting props – All Black Nepo Laulala and Jordan Lay – deserve special praise as they took the fight to the Chiefs at the set-piece, although the rest of their team did not capitalise on that dominance.

Too many unforced errors from the Blues

Although they were dominant in the scrums, the Blues could not convert that into points as they committed several mistakes when in possession and that proved to be their undoing in the grander scheme of things.

Star playmaker Barrett was the biggest culprit as he had an off day with little going right for him, as he made a plethora of unforced errors, especially in the first half.

Apart from missing some routine kicks at goal, the All Blacks playmaker’s biggest mistake came in the second half when he stood on the dead-ball line when trying to get into a better position while trying to score a try.

He was not the only one, however, and although the Blues had the bulk of the possession and territory, there were too many handling errors from especially when they were on the attack during the second half.