Chiefs player ratings vs Waratahs | Super Rugby Pacific
The Chiefs and Waratahs converged on AAMI Park in Melbourne for the opening game of the Super Rugby Pacific Super Round on Friday night.
While the Waratahs would have gone into the match confident they could keep the scoreline close, a red card to prop Angus Bell in the opening five minutes followed by a yellow to Jamie Roberts curtailed those thoughts and the Chiefs eventually raced out to a 22-3 lead.
The Waratahs did fight their way back into the game, getting themselves to within three points after 50 minutes of action, but the Chiefs’ regained their composure late in the piece and bagged the final three tries – all to winger Jonah Lowe – to finish the game 51-27.
Who were the Chiefs’ top performers on the night?
1. Aidan Ross – 7/10
Busy throughout the Chiefs’ first possession, whether carrying or in the breakdown. A huge effort on defence, making 12 tackles – the second-most of any Chief.
2. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 8
Once again accurate at lineout time, hitting 10 out of 10 deliveries. Was the final driver in the Chiefs earning a quality turnover from a kick-and-chase early on. Scored the Chiefs’ first try of the evening from a relatively simple lineout maul. Penalised for not rolling away early in the second half. Was the busiest carrier on the night. Off in 62nd minute.
3. Angus Ta’avao – 6
Scored his side a penalty at the second scrum of the match and the Chiefs scored from the ensuing lineout. Bumped clean by Charlie Gamble for the Waratahs’ second score of the evening. Off in 51st minute.
4. Josh Lord – 6
The key lineout man for the Chiefs. Made one brilliantly athletic one-handed take in the set-piece but was otherwise fairly quiet. Off in 51st minute.
5. Tupou Vaa’i – 7.5
3/3 lineout. Carried the ball with vigour, particularly so in the second spell. Churned through 11 tackles on defence and 29 metres with the ball in hand. Pinged for clumsily running into Jake Gordon during the Waratahs’ first attacking skirmish, costing the Chiefs three points.
6. Luke Jacobson – 7
1 lineout steal. Did a little bit of everything. Topped the tackle count for the Chiefs, threw three offloads and nabbed one steal at the breakdown. Popped up regularly in the wider channels. Put in two massive hits on Waratahs players immediately before halftime and then started putting real pressure on the Waratahs lineout in the last 20 minutes of the match once prop Harry Johnson-Holmes was throwing the ball in.
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7. Sam Cane – 6
A bit of a mixed bag for the Chiefs captain – busy, but also inaccurate at times. A side-entry early on scuppered the Chiefs’ penalty advantage – but maybe he was feeling a bit loopy after being dropped on his head by Angus Bell. Made a great run off the shoulder of Alex Nankivell near the 10-minute mark but couldn’t hold the ball once he went to ground. Also copped a penalty early in the second quarter for interference at the breakdown – although it looked like it was actually a Waratahs hand that knocked the ball out of the ruck. Missed a tackle on Jed Holloway as the lock steamed into a gap – but the tackle wasn’t hit to make. Straightened well and timed his last pass perfectly for Quinn Tupaea’s second try of the evening. Nabbed a turnover early in the fourth quarter.
8. Pita Gus Sowakula – 6.5
Relatively contained this week, ‘only’ making 36 metres with the pill – the most of any forward on the field. Pinged for some lazy breakdown work, entering from about as offside a position as is possible, then was caught out on defence from the Waratahs’ next set of possession which handed the Waratahs’ the space they needed for their first try. Knocked the ball on at the base of the ruck when the Chiefs were hot on attack. Off in 66th minute.
9. Cortez Ratima – 7
Great speed to the breakdown ensured the Chiefs attack was fizzing whenever they were in possession. Passing was generally accurate while he was also strong with the ball in hand. Off in 62nd minute.
10. Bryn Gatland – 7
Attacked the line well and was generally accurate with his kicking (7 out of 9 on posts) and passing. Did throw one pass directly to the lurking Jake Gordon, with the Waratahs halfback scampering away for a crucial try, but also created a couple of the Chiefs’.
11. Quinn Tupaea – 8
Combined well with Jonah Lowe in the outer channels early in the game. Left his wing to make a big number of carries on the offence. Chased a chip kick well and won his team a penalty at the breakdown from the ensuing tackle. Was unlucky to cop a yellow card late in the game for what looked like a perfectly legal steal after a Waratahs breakout.
12. Rameka Poihipi – 7.5
His strongest and most composed game at this level so far. Had a couple of nice carries and touches early in the game, including throwing the last pass for Jonah Lowe’s first try. Gave up the ball too easily in the second half when Gamble got hands on the ball from the kick-off. Hasn’t done his starting chances any harm.
13. Alex Nankivell – 8
Looked incisive with every carry and caused plenty of problems when he got the ball in hand – but it probably didn’t happen enough. Made a great half break with his first carry off the ball and was able to get the offload to captain Cane. Dropped the ball once with the line begging.
14. Jonah Lowe – 8.5
Scored four tries – only one fewer than Sean Wainui’s effort in the same fixture last year – and chalked up 80 metres with the ball in hand. Didn’t put a foot wrong and wasn’t afraid to come off his wing to help out.
15. Chase Tiatia – 6
Strong in contact and error-free but outshone by some of his backline teammates. Off in 62nd minute.
Reserves:
16. Bradley Slater
On in 62nd minute. Maintained the lineout accuracy and was handy as a link carrier.
17. Atunaisa Moli – N/A
On in 70th minute.
18. George Dyer – 5
On in 51st minute. Combined with Jacobson in the 72nd minute to force a breakdown penalty. With uncontested scrums, didn’t get the chance to show off his talents in the set-piece.
19. Naitoa Ah Kuoi – 6
On in 51st minute. Was a great support runner and helped maintain quick ball late in the game. Incurred one penalty for offside play near the breakdown.
20. Samipeni Finau – 7
On in 66th minute. Made one excellent carry in the build-up to the Chiefs’ sixth try – and two or three thereafter.
21. Xavier Roe – 7
On in 62nd minute. Tidy – a very competent return from injury. Put in two great kicks, the first when he was under pressure down the sideline and the second to create the final try of the game.
22. Rivez Reihana – 7.5
On in 62nd minute. Showed great acceleration to turn, chase and make a tackle on Dylan Pietsch to shut down a certain try then shut down the next Waratahs attack with a great leg tackle.
23. Inga Finau – N/A
On in 77th minute.
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments