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'Brutality': Chiefs left dumbfounded by Super Rugby Pacific final capitulation
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The Chiefs finals heartbreak continued for the fourth consecutive year, but this time it was a new type of dejection as they conceded 60 points to a rampant Hurricanes team in Wellington.
After coming within a play of Super Rugby Pacific glory in 2023, and another close tussle in 2025 against the Crusaders, the Chiefs found themselves on the wrong end of capital punishment.
It left both head coach Jono Gibbes and captain Luke Jacobson unable to put into words exactly what happened on a wild, windy night at Hnry Stadium.
Nothing went right for the Chiefs, including the coin toss with captain Jacobson admitting he thought he picked to play with the wind in the first half. It was the opposite as the Hurricanes piled on 29 points with the wind at their backs.
“Processing that, there are strong emotions and disappointment,” head coach Gibbes said.
“There’s a brutality that it stops right now. That routine and process has come to an end.
“Trying to articulate an emotional response right now that encompasses 80 minutes, but also a process since December for a group of men and women in our building, it’s hard to nail it into a soundbite for you guys.
“Right now, it’s pretty difficult to sum it all up and keep perspective. It’s the 80 minutes that’s the last for the season.
“They mastered those conditions better than us. It was pretty clear to see.”
It was clear the conditions influenced proceedings with first five Damian McKenzie unable to account for the strong gale pushing the Chiefs. His kicking went awol, costing possession and set-piece as the Hurricanes played off the platforms provided from the errors.
“Probably the start of the game… just not ideal at all,” Jacobson said.
“There were a lot of bounces of the ball, things that went the Hurricanes’ way, and I’m not saying that won them the game.
“We didn’t rally fast enough. They got their tails up and played some awesome footy.”
The Chiefs will have some soul-searching to do to regroup again to break a title drought that extends back to 2013, when incoming All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie coached the Chiefs to back-to-back titles.
They will gain the services of All Black veteran Anton Lienert-Brown, while losing halfback Xavier Roe, first five Josh Jacomb, ex-Wallaby Lalakai Foketi, Liam Combes-Fabling and Etene Nanai-Seturo.
The bulk of the squad will return which firms the Chiefs as likely contenders once again in 2027 where they will attempt to overcome four finals losses in a row.
“You guys can see the result and the outcomes,” Gibbes said.
“What I really admire about the playing group, the staff, the coaches and the organisation is they dust themselves back off, get up, and get up for that fight again, even though they’ve suffered a massive heartbreak,” he said.
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