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Chiefs player ratings vs Rebels | Super Rugby Trans-Tasman
The Chiefs have kept their faint Super Rugby Trans-Tasman hopes alive with a 36-26 victory over the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney on Sunday.
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Playing in front of a small crowd at Leichardt Oval, both sides utilised the dry track and sunny weather to full effect as a total of 10 tries were scored, but the skilfulness of the Chiefs was enough to see the Hamilton-based franchise home.
With that in mind, here’s how Clayton McMillan’s side rated:
1. Reuben O’Neill – 7
Got the better of Cabous Eloff in one of the earlier scrums of the match. Did it again in the 24th minute, but was part of the tight five that got collectively outmuscled by the Rebels as they shunted their way over the line for Isi Naisarani’s try. Really acquitted himself well along match long on the defensive side of things. Showed much of what Sir Steve Hansen saw in him when he was picked for the All Blacks on their 2018 end-of-year tour.
2. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 6
Ran hard and with intent when given the opportunity. Faultless at the lineout. Popped up in and around the fringes of the breakdown frequently. Off in the 52nd minute.
3. Angus Ta’avao – 6
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Like O’Neill, was shown up by the Rebels at scrum time near the half hour mark, but it was Ta’avao who got well and truly bested by Cameron Orr. Got around the park well though. Off in the 68th minute.
4. Josh Lord – N/A
Left the field with some claret streaming down his face in the third minute. Looked to have picked up a nasty black eye in the process.
5. Tupou Vaa’i – 5
Guilty of slipping out of a tackle on Isi Naisarani and then giving away a breakdown penalty in the same sequence of play that then allowed the Rebels to move into Chiefs territory and score. Looked to get one back on Naisarani early in the second half with a charging carry deep inside enemy territory. A bit flakier on defence than usual, but snaffled a couple of breakdown turnovers.
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6. Pita Gus Sowakula – 7.5
Found himself in the thick of things from the get-go. Opened things up with a breakaway down the middle of the park following some sloppy handling by the Rebels and was unfortunate not to bag a try assist from the same play. Very busy with ball in hand, and was impactful with it too. Showed off his skilfulness to play a leading hand the build-up to Tiatia’s second try. By far the best forward for the Chiefs.
7. Lachlan Boshier – 5
Made a nuisance of himself at the breakdown but drew the ire of the referee in doing so. Defensively busy but didn’t reap the desired rewards that has often made him a vital figure for the Chiefs over the past 18 months.
8. Luke Jacobson – 6
Hardly sighted at all in the first half as he made no tackles and registered zero running metres. Picked things up a bit more in the second half as we got himself more involved on either side of the ball and at the lineout, and even stole an opposition throw. Been sensational all year, but probably wasn’t at his best in this match.
The skilfulness of the Chiefs has proven to be enough for the Hamilton-based to emerge victorious over the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney on Sunday. #SuperRugbyTT #CHIvREB https://t.co/1C8KYp8apr
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 6, 2021
9. Xavier Roe – 6
Probably should have scored after he was put into acres of space down the left flank by Tupaea inside the first 10 minutes, but just didn’t have the legs to finish it off. Went about the rest of his work in tidy fashion. Off in the 52nd minute.
10. Bryn Gatland – 7
Great vision and inside ball to put Stevenson in for what really should have been a try were it not for a questionable TMO decision in the ninth minute. His playmaking prowess was again evident in the lead-up to Kaleb Trask’s try, and again when he flung a quality long ball out wide to Tiatia to catch Frank Lomani out and serve up the Chiefs’ fourth try. Extremely brave tackle attempt on Marika Koroibete in the 50th minute as he stormed upfield from a kick return. Certainly one of the more influential Chiefs players.
11. Bailyn Sullivan – 6.5
Soft hands were on show plenty of times. Denied a try thanks to the last-ditch defence of his opposite Lachie Anderson. Caught out of position as Carter Gordon stabbed a grubber kick through to set Stacey Ili up for his try. Off at half-time.
12. Quinn Tupaea – 7
Gave away a silly penalty by entering a breakdown from the side in the third minute. Superb short ball to put Lienert-Brown through for a try in the 21st minute. Guilty of dropping the ball cold while under pressure from Marika Koroibete from a kick-off in the 26th minute. Spun his way through the defensive line to put the Rebels on the back foot in the 32nd minute. Then broke the defensive line in the 52nd minute to kickstart a rampant backline move that ended with a try to Trask. Drew roars from the small crowd for his emphatic bump off of a Rebels player in the 64th minute. Some blights on an otherwise very solid performance. Good to see him back and firing after his injury lay-off.
13. Anton Lienert-Brown – 8
Showed some nice touches of finesse with his offloads in the opening stages. Stunning running line and footwork to canter of for his first try. Used those attributes again to score his second in the 24th minute. Glided across the park with ease as his poise and balance played a big part in the Chiefs’ attack.
14. Shaun Stevenson – 7
Denied a try in the ninth minute because of a “rubbish” obstruction rule, as ex-Wallabies wing and Stan Sport commentator Drew Mitchell called it. Assisted Trask’s try shortly afterwards. Wonderful ability to draw in two defenders before throwing a lovely one-handed offload to put Lienert-Brown away for his second try. Great handling to keep the ball alive leading into Trask’s second try. A real strike weapon for the Chiefs.
15. Kaleb Trask – 8
Good support play to score in the 16th minute. Nice hands in the build-up to Lienert-Brown’s second try. Played the role of the link man well often. Got a well-deserved second try by capping off a silky backline move. Got himself a try assist with a nice offload to Tiatia while under pressure from the covering defence. A very polished performance as the youngster stood up to the task of filling in for Damian McKenzie very well.
Highlanders boss Clarke Dermody has revealed a half-time talk from one of his assistants helped propel his side to their record-breaking win over the Waratahs. #SuperRugbyTT #HIGvWAR https://t.co/BbEOxCVADV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 6, 2021
Reserves:
16. Bradley Slater – 6
On in the 52nd minute.
17. Ollie Norris – 6
On in the 59th minute. Brought plenty of enthusiasm onto the field, particularly on defence.
18. Sione Mafileo – N/A
On in the 68th minute.
19. Michael Brown – 6.5
On in the third minute. Drove well from a rolling maul but was held up over the tryline in the 12th minute. Applied himself well in the tough stuff. Topped the Chiefs’ tackle count.
20. Zane Kapeli – N/A
On in the 68th minute.
21. Brad Weber – 6
On in the 52nd minute. Directed traffic well and managed to put a few players into holes on the fringes of the breakdown.
22. Alex Nankivell – N/A
On in the 66th minute. Had a 10-minute cameo in the first half as he came on for Tupaea, but was largely anonymous or ineffectual.
23. Chase Tiatia – 6.5
On at half-time. Easily scampered in for a try after just three minutes of action thanks to Melbourne’s poor defensive set-up from a scrum near their own line. Good support play to score his second. A great finisher.
Comments on RugbyPass
Utter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
2 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
2 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
10 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
10 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
10 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
3 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
3 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
3 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to comments