Chiefs player ratings vs Blues | Super Rugby Pacific
Despite the Chiefs forwards generally holding dominance over the Blues at on Saturday night, poor decision-making and a lack of composure meant the Blues were able to secure an impressive 25-0 win at Waikato Stadium.
The Blues had the run of the play in the first 15 minutes after Kaylum Boshier was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, building a 13-0 lead, but the momentum started to shift in the home side’s favour once they returned to their full contingent. Despite the Blues losing three men to yellow cards, the Chiefs were never able to land any sort of solid punch on their opposition and would have finished the match rueing countless missed opportunities.
With their heads bowed in the final quarter after failing to capitalise on all their chances, the Blues scored a final try and consigned the Chiefs to their first-ever nilling.
How did the Chiefs rate in the overall disappointing effort?
1. Aidan Ross – 5.5
Made an excellent cover tackle on Beauden Barrett to prevent a Blues counter-attack in the second quarter but and went toe to toe with Ofa Tuungafasi in the set-piece, never giving up an inch. Penalised for advancing following a kick, gifting the Blues three easy points. Off in 46th minute.
2. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 6
Bang on target at lineout time, hitting 13 from 14. Relatively container with ball in hand – though always drew in a couple of defenders. Penalised once for getting offside and once for going off his feet at the breakdown. Didn’t quite have the pace to shut down Tom Robinson en route to the Blues’ first try. Dropped the ball over the line. Off in 55th minute.
3. Angus Ta’avao – 4.5
Knocked on early then was penalised at the next two scrums. Eventually found some parity with opposite Alex Hodgman and exerted some dominance when the Chiefs went a man up – but they weren’t able to capitalise. Off in 55th minute.
4. Josh Lord – 6.5
Some good work at the lineout and the breakdown at the beginning of the second quarter earned the Chiefs possession. Always looked for the offload out of the tackle and was generally useful on the carry. Needed a bit of support when he managed to get so many Blues ball-carriers held up off the ground but couldn’t do it all on his own. One of many Chiefs players whose offside defence on the goal line gave the Blues an advantage to play with. Off in 55th minute.
5. Naitoa Ah Kuoi – 6.5
Grabbed nine out of his 10 lineout deliveries and was a strong cog in the Chiefs forward pack. Industrious on both attack and defence, didn’t let his team down by any means.
6. Kaylum Boshier – 3
A step backwards for the young flanker, who has been so impressive in his prior starts. Became the first Chiefs player of the year to be handed a yellow card after making a lifting tackle on Josh Goodhue. Nabbed an early lineout steal. Off in 46th minute.
7. Sam Cane – 5
A hugely disappointing display from the captain – especially given all the rhetoric coming out of the Chiefs camp about making up for their disappointing breakdown work against the Crusaders in their previous game in Hamilton. Twice did a poor job at attempting to secure the ball at the breakdown in the first half, with the Blues promptly turning the ball over. Penalised for obstruction early in the second half. Disrupted Sam Nock at the breakdown on two occasions to earn the Chiefs possession. Copped a penalty late in the piece for not releasing the ball after getting tackled. As captain, needed to set the referee straight in the final quarter when Paul Williams let the Blues get away with loading just seven players in the uncontested scrums. Made a match-high 14 tackles.
8. Pita Gus Sowakula – 7
Trucked the ball up 16 times and was generally good at generating momentum. One big grass-cutter tackle on Rieko Ioane shut down the Blues momentum and allowed Quinn Tupaea to get over the ball for a turnover. If he had been able to control the ball better at the base of the scrum, a try for the Chiefs seemed inevitable. A great counter-ruck at the beginning of the second half earned the Chiefs a breakdown penalty.
9. Brad Weber – 4.5
Hasn’t always had the best ball to deal with this year and struggles to take control of a match when that’s the case. When the Blues were on a warning, he needed to control the game and keep the ball in close to the ruck. Some very scrappy play around the 20-minute mark resulted in two turnovers while the Chiefs were on attack. Knocked the ball on when the Chiefs were looking likely at the beginning of the second half. When he’s on, he’s on – but he was very much off tonight. Off in 50th minute.
10. Bryn Gatland – 3
After some strong performances earlier in the season, looked well off the pace against the Blues. Lobbed the kick-off out on the full after the Blues’ first try, immediately putting his team back on the defensive. Started attacking the line towards the end of the first half but wasn’t relatively well contained by the Blues defence. Wasted the Chiefs’ first scrum advantage towards the end of the first half by tossing a speculative ball to no one and that wasn’t the only time he was guilty of just passing the ball and hoping there’d be someone to catch it. Has to cop some of the blame for the poor ball delivered to the backline.
11. Etene Nanai-Seturo – 7.5
Needed to make a statement after a poor effort last weekend – and that he did. Comfortably the most incisive player in the Chiefs line-up and was on fire in the second half. Made a scything run in the early in the second period to score what would have been a great individual try, but it was called back for obstruction then made a great run down the left-hand flank moments later but was narrowly pushed over the sideline by two Blues defenders. Grabbed one turnover late in the piece. On the other side of the ledger, he was caught offside for the Blues’ first attacking foray and couldn’t deliver the pass to an unmarked Chase Tiatia on the wing at the three-quarter mark, with another possible try gone begging.
12. Alex Nankivell – 3
Barely featured in his 50th Super Rugby game, making four runs for just two metres while also notching up only two tackles. Alongside Quinn Tupaea, was penalised early in the match for defending in an offside position.
13. Anton Lienert-Brown – N/A
Left the field just seven minutes into the match after injuring his shoulder in an early breakdown after making a good covering tackle.
14. Jonah Lowe – 4
Had zero impact on the match before departing in the 31st minute after taking a knock to the thigh.
15. Chase Tiatia – 4.5
Made a couple of good runs in the second half but otherwise, like the rest of his backline, barely featured.
Reserves:
16. Bradley Slater – 5
On in 55th minute. The lineout got a bit scrappier with Slater on the park but the Chiefs still managed to retain possession from all six of his deliveries.
17. Ollie Norris – 5
On in 46th minute. Better around the park than the man he replaced but despite his toil, wasn’t able to add much in the way of impact.
18. George Dyer – 5
On in 55th minute. Didn’t take a backwards step at scrumtime and was just starting to find some dominance when Golden Oldies took over.
19. Samipeni Finau – 4.5
On in 55th minute. Grabbed three lineouts but otherwise added little in his 25 minutes on the park.
20. Luke Jacobson – 6.5
On in 46th minute. Added some impact off the bench and looked good when ranging out in the wider channels. Will take over as the first-choice No 6 now that he’s had a few runs off the bench since returning from injury.
21. Cortez Ratima – 6
On in 50th minute. Had to deal with some scrappy presentation from the Chiefs forwards but generally managed the game well.
22. Quinn Tupaea – 4
On in 7th minute. Another case of getting considerably more minutes than he would have been expecting, having started all six of the Chiefs’ matches prior to tonight’s fixture. Penalised for offside defending. Rieko Ioane managed to get on his outside from a midfield scrum, earning the Blues truckloads of territory and momentum. Secured a good breakdown steal to shut down a Blues attack in the 31st minute. Dropped the ball cold in the final minute to sum up the Chiefs game.
23. Rivez Reihana – 6.5
On in the 31st minute. The longest run he’s had at this level of the game and looked composed. Managed to avoid the first tackle on more than one occasion and was safe in the backfield.
Comments on RugbyPass
I’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
19 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
19 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
12 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
19 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
12 Go to commentsAfter missing the curfew, the player was simply too “Shagged” to stand up.
12 Go to commentsVernier is probably the best 12 in the world though she has some English competition these days . I am nervous for England because it is unpredictable France and who knows which team will turn up, but they have not yet shown anything that should worry England, Saturday could be a different day. I would be more confident against the BFs.
1 Go to commentsWhat a difference Rodda and Carter made. Rodda has been out for ages but he is really the only world class lock in Australian rugby. Him, Carter and Beale made a huge difference on the weekend. If only they had a few decent props they’d be a much more dangerous team. Hamish Stewart was excellent last week as well. His carrying has improved significantly and has to be next in line after Paisami at 12 for the Wallabies. He’ll benefit hugely with Beale at fullback, there’s just no better communicator in Australian rugby than him and his experience will make a huge difference for the Force. No one sees space like Beale and he’s still sharp. I can see Force making a late charge into the top 8 if they can get some consistency.
2 Go to commentsRodda will be a walk up starter at lock. Frost if you analyse his dominance has little impact and he’s a long way from being physical enough, especially when you compare to Rodda and the work he does. He was quite poor at the World Cup in his lack of physicality. Between Rodda and Skelton we would have locks who can dominate the breakdown and in contact. Frost is maybe next but Schmidt might go for a more physical lock who does their core work better like Ryan or LSL. Swain is no chance unless there’s a load of injuries. Pollard hasn’t got the scrum ability yet to be considered. Nasser dominated him when they went toe to toe and really showed him up. Picking Skelton effects who can play 6 and 8. Ideally Valetini would play 6 as that’s his best position and Wilson at 8 but that’s not ideal for lineout success. Cale isn’t physical enough yet in contact and defence but is the best backrow lineout jumper followed by Wright, Hanigan and Swinton so unfortunately Valetini probably will start at 8 with Wright or Hanigan at 6. Wilson on the bench, he’s got too much quality not to be in the squad. Paisami is leading the way at 12 but Hamish Stewart is playing extremely well also and his ball carrying has improved significantly. Beale is also another option based on the weekend. Beale is class but he’s also the best communicator of any Australian backline player and that can’t be underestimated, he’ll be in the mix.
8 Go to commentsWhy do people keep on picking Ardie at 7 when he's a ball in hand 8? A modern 7 is the lead tackler and ruck clearer which isn't his strength.
19 Go to commentsSly dig there at Ireland’s propensity to back a non-Irish coach. Must really want it. I’m not sure I like ROG very much. Comes off as unpleasant. But he’d gain my respect if he took a number 7 ranked team and turned them into WC winners. Not even back-to-back. Argentina? Scotland? Or how about Wales? France would be too easy, no?
1 Go to commentsA bit of sensationalism, but surprised by the comments about SBW. I’ve always thought of him as a pretty authentic person. There is nothing worse than working with a colleague you’ve seen straight through.
12 Go to comments100% agree with your comment about Touch. I’ve been playing it competitively since Covid. It’s on a Wednesday night after work. It means the weekend is free for time with my family.
2 Go to commentsRodda back is massively important for the Wallabies. Kaitu at hooker important too coz he was very good a few years ago.
2 Go to comments