Match Highlights: McKenzie turns on style as positional switch pays off for Chiefs
The switch to fullback from five-eighth worked wonders for Damian McKenzie on Friday as he scored a try and added 13 points from the boot to help end the Chiefs’ losing streak with a 23-23 draw with the Hurricanes in Hamilton.
McKenzie had struggled to impose himself in his three previous appearances and with the Chiefs mired in a run of four successive Super Rugby losses coach Colin Cooper decided to make a positional change.
The tactic paid off as the All Blacks‘ utility back was able to exploit space with his pace and footwork to create opportunities for the home side, who also got a try from Anton Lienert-Brown.
Matt Proctor and Wes Goosen scored tries for the visitors, while Beauden Barrett added 10 points off the boot and younger brother Jordie slotted a long-range penalty.
The match was played under the shadow of New Zealand’s worst mass shooting, with 49 people killed after at least one gunman opened fire at two Christchurch mosques earlier on Friday.
Both teams stood silently in a huddle before the kick-off to commemorate the victims of the shooting, while the crowd also stood silently as a mark of respect.
When the match began, Lienert-Brown gave home fans something to cheer about in just the second minute, charging down a Chase Tiatia clearing kick and scored the opening try.
The visitors were far more structured in their play but made numerous errors in attack, allowing the Chiefs to clear their lines.
After a Beauden Barrett penalty, the Hurricanes’ pressure paid off when Proctor was put over from an attacking scrum to give the visitors an 8-7 lead.
That advantage did not last long as McKenzie finished off a sweeping try that had begun from a scrum deep inside their own territory, though there was the hint of at least one forward pass during the move.
The Hurricanes’ Jordie Barrett landed a long-range shot at goal to reduce the gap before McKenzie added two further penalties to give the home side a 20-13 lead at the break.
The visitors appeared to have taken on board the blunt message delivered by their coaching staff at half-time as they scored 10 unanswered points through Beauden Barrett’s second penalty and Goosen’s try after a spectacular burst from Tiatia.
The Chiefs would not allow themselves to suffer yet another defeat though, and McKenzie slotted his third penalty to tie it up at 23-23 and cap the scoring with more than 20 minutes left.
AAP
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Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
39 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
39 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
39 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
51 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
39 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
39 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’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.
39 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.
39 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 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.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments