Chiefs player ratings vs Crusaders | Super Rugby Pacific
The Chiefs have scored a shock come-from-behind victory over the Crusaders, triumphing 24-21 in Christchurch on Saturday evening.
Early in the piece, the Chiefs struggled to string together phases but looked strong when they were able to hold onto the ball and forced plenty of indiscretions from the home team. The Crusaders were the more dangerous side during unstructured play, however, and held a 21-10 lead for 30 minutes in the second half.
After holding onto possession and dominating territory in the final quarter, however, the Chiefs were eventually able to secure two late tries to take home the points.
Who were the best performers in the win?
1. Aidan Ross – 5.5/10
Safe as houses at the set-piece, even winning himself a lineout, but had little impact on general play. Off in 47th minute.
2. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 7.5
As always, a crucial ball carrier for the Chiefs, constantly dragging one or two defenders with him for extra post-contact metres. Absolutely integral to the Chiefs’ success this year. Generally accurate at lineout time with only a couple of misses. Pinged for an illegal steal early in the match. Off in 61st minute.
3. Angus Ta’avao – 6
A mixed bag in his 50th. Earned a penalty against All Blacks teammate Joe Moody but was penalised once himself when up against George Bower. Generally had parity at scrum time and popped up around the park. Off in 67th minute.
4. Tupou Vaa’i – 6.5
Had more of an impact back in his preferred position in the second row this week. Put on an audacious sidestep then threw a superb offload to kick off the Chiefs’ best counter-attack of the night. A useful option at lineout time and busy on defence. Off in 58th minute.
5. Brodie Retallick – 7.5
2/3 lineouts. The night started slowly for Brodie Retallick but the big second-rower grew into the match and was crucial in the final 10 minutes with his work around the park. Wasn’t used as a jumper at all in the first half then took three in the final quarter of the game. Was visible on attack and was integral at securing the ball at the breakdown when the Crusaders looked interested.
6. Kaylum Boshier – 6
A surprisingly useful lineout option, taking three deliveries and nabbing one from the Crusaders too. Caught out in the scrum for the Crusaders’ first try. Nice weaving run down the sideline but waited too long to offload and handed over possession. Generally industrious. Off in 62nd minute.
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7. Sam Cane – 8
A great shift from the All Blacks captain – kept his side calm under pressure when they were chasing the game and hit countless breakdowns. Secured an important turnover in the first five minutes when the Crusaders were hot on attack inside the 22. Pinged once for not releasing the tackled player. Threw a nice offload during a Chiefs breakout from behind their own goal line but shelled a return ball later in the movement.
8. Pita Gus Sowakula – 7
Mixed the good with the bad. His usual busy self on attack but looked turgid at times late in the piece after shouldering a big load over the opening rounds. Missed Joe Moody early – which would have proved costly if Braydon Ennor hadn’t shelled the prop’s offload. Couldn’t control the bouncing ball under pressure from Ethan Blackadder when Richie Mo’unga grubbered through following a scrum and the Crusaders pounced for a try. Always looked for the offload out of the tackle. Made a last-gasp tackle on Blackadder later in the half to stop a sure try. Sent Richie Mo’unga to the Shadow Realm with a nice fend seconds later. Forced a breakdown penalty late in the third quarter.
9. Xavier Roe – 7
A very tidy showing from the young halfback. Did his part to prevent a try after a Braydon Ennor linebreak, making a crucial tackle on Bryn Hall. Gave his backs clean, quick passes and won’t have harmed his future selection chances. Off in 49th minute.
10. Bryn Gatland – 7.5
The second 40 minutes was his best half of rugby at Super Rugby level. Put up some dicey high balls to start the match and couldn’t find touch from a relieving penalty that put his side under immense pressure, eventually resulting in three points to the home side. Attacked the line more than we’re used to seeing, especially in the final 20 minutes. Hit gaps, threw offloads and delivered the final pass for the winning score plus kicked all his goals.
11. Alex Nankivell – 7
A late ring-in on the left wing but didn’t look out of place. Showcased his strength throughout and hit some weak shoulders too. Looked to keep the ball alive late in the first half, sparking the big Chiefs breakout.
12. Quinn Tupaea – 5.5
A quiet match for the All Blacks second five. Called upon to truck the ball up throughout the match but struggled to make any ground. Threw a hospital pass to his midfield partner early in the second half. Hasn’t yet found his form this year.
13. Anton Lienert-Brown – 6.5
Came into the game later in the piece, once the Chiefs started holding onto more ball. A good link player and was always looking for runners. Penalised twice at the breakdown.
14. Shaun Stevenson – 7.5
Finished two tries superbly. Showed excellent hands and feet to score the first of the match, breaking through a handful of tackles in the process, and then finished the Chiefs’ second with an excellent dive. Dirty play after a Pablo Matera chip-and-chase was rightly penalised. Copped another penalty shortly after halftime. Excellent skills but questionable decision-making.
15. Emoni Narawa – 6.5
Grabbed a crucial turnover just metres out from the Chiefs’ goal line then made a half-break moments later and threw a money ball to Stevenson for the Chiefs’ first try. Did a very good job holding Leicester Fainga’anuku up over the line after a try looked inevitable. Saw plenty of ball and tried to generate some momentum – ending the match with the most metres earned – but his biggest plays were ultimately the try-stoppers. Off in 61st minute.
Reserves:
16. Bradley Slater – 6.5
On in 61st minute. Hit all his lineout targets under immense pressure in the final quarter.
17. Ollie Norris – 6
On in 47th minute. Kept the scrum secure and was busier than the starting props in open play.
18. George Dyer – N/A
On in 67th minute. Good effort in his Super Rugby debut, didn’t look out of place.
19. Naitoa Ah Kuoi
On in 58th minute. 2/2 lineout. Shelled a couple of balls on attack but tried to get involved as much as possible and was a willing ball-carrier in the final quarter. No problems at lineout time.
20. Tom Florence – 6
On in 62nd minute. 2/2 lineout. Similar to Ah Kuoi, safe in the lineouts and made plenty of carries once he joined the fray.
21. Cortez Ratima – 7.5
On in 49th minute. An excellent impact sub, kept the deliveries quick when the Chiefs were stringing together their attack late in the piece. The Chiefs have three very good halfbacks at their disposal and the battle to back up Brad Weber will be an interesting contest throughout the season.
22. Rivez Reihana – 4
On in 61st minute. Probably tried to do too much, popping up close to the action when it was really the forwards’ time to shine and not necessarily winning the contact.
23. Rameka Poihipi – N/A
On in 72nd minute. Scored the winning try after a simple catch and pass.
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
7 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
7 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
7 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
19 Go to comments