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Chiefs grind out win over Brumbies with 'relentless' defence

By AAP
Naitoa Ah Kuoi of the Chiefs in action during the round 14 Super Rugby Pacific match between ACT Brumbies and Chiefs at GIO Stadium, on May 27, 2023, in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham says three soft tries dented their hopes of upsetting the Chiefs with their chances of a top-two Super Rugby Pacific finish over after a 31-21 loss.

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Missed tackles and butchered opportunities deep in attack cost the Brumbies an opportunity to roll the competition leaders at GIO Stadium on Saturday night.

They were competitive early before 24 unanswered points saw the Chiefs blow the game apart.

The loss leaves the Brumbies fourth on the table and likely to remain in that spot with a win against Melbourne next weekend, setting them up for a home quarter-final against the Hurricanes.

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And they might have to do it without captain Allan Alaalatoa, the Wallabies prop helped from the field in the second half with a calf injury in what would be a monster blow.

The Brumbies enjoyed 65 per cent territory in the first half but were stifled by the physical Chiefs defence, with lapses at the other end of the field crippling their chances of staying in the game.

“I actually thought we played quite well for most of the game, they defended exceptionally well inside their 22 (metres) and they took their opportunities quite well,” Larkham said.

“There were three tries there they scored without basically a hand on them – that’s 21 points.

“Our lineout, we struggled to deliver good ball again there tonight, without that platform sometimes it’s difficult for us to get on to a bit of a roll.

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“We defended some really good passages that over the last month or so we haven’t defended as well.

“So good energy, the boys started in a good frame of mind and had good energy throughout the game.”

A clever short-side run from No.8 Luke Jacobson and an intercept try for Cortez Ratima let the Chiefs take control, before All Blacks contender Shaun Stevenson slashed through the line within five minutes of coming off the bench to complete a run of 24 straight points.

That barrage took the score from 7-all to 31-7 before late tries from Corey Toole and Pete Samu narrowed the margin.

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The Chiefs, who have ploughed through most of the competition this season and only lost once, physically imposed themselves on the Brumbies and broke tackles easily to eat up post-contact metres.

So often able to rely on their rolling maul to get them out of trouble, the Brumbies only found one try off the back of their lineout from six inside opposition 22m.

“Both teams had a lot to play for so to put on a performance like that is incredibly pleasing,” Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said.

“Our defensive effort was huge, we understand what feeds the Brumbies game, ill discipline, allowing them to play at the right into the field … to stop their maul in particular was really strong.

“It was pretty relentless, the boys didn’t stop and that was the most pleasing thing.”

In a potential battle of the respective national team fullbacks, the Chiefs’ No.15 Damian McKenzie got the points over Tom Wright, initiating much of their attack and shifting the ball around at will.

Alaalatoa found himself in the sin bin early for a high shot on Brodie Retallick, although the Brumbies held strong and only conceded one penalty goal while he was off the field.

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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