Chiefs vs Moana takes: McKenzie shows why No.1, Tupaea's concern

The Chiefs have put some massive scores on Moana Pasifika over the years, and after four minutes in Hamilton it looked like this would be no different.

The ‘bogey’ side for Moana put two tries on the board to get up 14-0 before the five minute mark, but some resilient play got Moana back in the game at 19-14 and again at 31-19.

Although the Chiefs ran away with it comfortably by 57-24, they didn’t have it all their way, with the class of Damian McKenzie and Cortez Ratima the difference. Moana Pasifika had some bright performances but ultimately they couldn’t handle the Chiefs’ speed.

Tony Brown’s view on the All Black coaching job

Tony Brown’s view on the All Black coaching job

McKenzie shows why ranked No.1

We haven’t yet seen the Chiefs number one halves pairing in 2026 until now, and the All Black pair made their presence felt with influence all over the park.

Ratima finished with three try assists, McKenzie one, but they were both involved heavily in the lead up to many more. McKenzie and Ratima combined with an end-over-end box kick shortly after a turnover to create a try for Foketi in the corner. McKenzie’s off-script running created the try for Emoni Narawa, despite not producing the last offload for the try.

The Chiefs 9 & 10 were a step ahead of Moana all night, attacking frequently on turnovers and identifying space to get to. McKenzie, rated the No.1 player in the RugbyPass Top 50, showed why on his return to Super Rugby. They took control with the game still in the balance and

Tupaea’s big night and one moment of concern

All Black No.12 Quinn Tupaea also had a big night, enjoying a lot of open space out wide at times on the wing. He scored the opening try in the left corner from a long ball from Ratima. There were classy touches with two line breaks, adding a try assist for Leroy Carter with an inside pass down the left touchline. He wrapped around to get a second involvement that showed great work rate.

He had the key involvement on debutant Kyle Brown’s try, chasing down Josh Jacomb’s chip kick and then expertly timing the pass between two tacklers to McKenzie on the fly.

Tupaea’s attacking game is superb but if there was one blemish on his night that the All Blacks would have concerns with it was a piece of defence in the first half where Moana’s No.8 Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa ran right through his channel to score. Now, Ta’eiloa is one of the best players in the entire competition and his unique size is a real asset for Moana. He is a different breed. But Tupaea is a Test level midfielder who will have to defend against big loosies all the time. This was not to that standard required.

Leroy Carter continues blazing run

The Chiefs have the best wing combination in the combination, with speedster Leroy Carter on the left and Fijian weapon Emoni Narawa on the right. Both were in the thick of the try scoring action with Carter bagging three and Narawa also nabbing one of his own with a great support line bursting through the defence.

On the face of it, Carter’s three tries don’t look like much, two of them he went over untouched, but being in the right place at the right time is very much the job of a winger and few are as good as Carter at being there. His first was on the left side but not on the edge, trailing inside Tupaea. The next was from sweeping across to the right side and finding an offload inside fullback Liam Coombes-Fabling. The delayed run was perfect as Coombes-Fabling was being brought down in the tackle. The third was a one-on-one in the corner which Carter managed to win from close range.

The Chiefs wingers are floating and they have to anticipate where to pop up and Carter does it better than anyone.

Moana’s most promising

After beating the Fijian Drua in Fiji in round one, it seemed like the post-Ardie year for Moana was going to be a smooth transition but after suffering a hammering at the hands of the Chiefs, things are looking perilous.

Moana sit in last place with a growing negative points differential the problem. When they were able to keep the chase going against the Chiefs, it was former Chiefs halfback Augustine Pulu who was getting them into good field position. He kicked a 50-22 from a turnover, which gave the field position for the try to fleet-footed fullback Glen Vaihu. He pounced on the Chiefs ruck to win a ruck penalty on halfway that gave them another 22 entry.

The star of the show is No.8 Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa who possesses raw power and size that Moana can use to batter opponents. When they can contain the game and use their power, Moana are in the fight. Ta’eiloa bagged two tries from close range and is always a handful. He finished with 14 carries for 71 metres which is huge for a forward.

Jackson Garden-Bachop had the start this week but it was Pat Pellegrini who offered a spark when he came on. He has an uncanny knack of breaking the line and he was able to do that again, yet they could not capitalise on it. Pellegrini’s kicking game is so central to Moana taking control so it’s a major setback when he’s not starting.

They are going to have to find answers quickly with four straight games against New Zealand teams; Blues, Crusaders, Highlanders and Chiefs.