New chapter in Super Rugby's fiercest rivalry
Friday night will see a new chapter written in one of Super Rugby’s greatest rivalries as the Hurricanes and Chiefs jostle for pole position in the New Zealand conference.
There is no doubt that the Hurricanes and Chiefs will leave it all on the field when they put their respective five-game winning streaks on the line, and if history is anything to go by, we could be in for another tight contest.
The last seven times the Super Rugby powerhouses have met, an average margin of just 6.5 points has separated them. Three of the seven fixtures, dating back to July 2014, have been decided by three points or less.
Breaking down the last ten meetings for the Hurricanes and Chiefs is like splitting hairs, with the Chiefs edging the Hurricanes six to four in the win column, winning three times on the road and three times at home.
However, it is the Hurricanes who have fronted when it matters most, dispatching the Chiefs 25-9 in the 2016 semi-final – their only playoff meeting this decade – en route to winning their maiden Super Rugby title.
But it’s not just the numbers that makes these sides tough to separate. It’s the personnel.
New Chiefs head coach Colin Cooper knows the opposing side well, as he spent seven years as head coach of the Hurricanes from 2003 to 2010, leading the side to a grand final appearance in 2006.
After Cooper’s departure from the Hurricanes he returned to his provincial roots in Taranaki, where he coached the Mitre 10 Cup side for a further seven years.
And it’s in Taranaki where the rivalry takes another turn. The Chiefs and Hurricanes have been so close of late, even their regional catchment area has been tough to split – the Hurricanes recently apologised after using the phrase “Taranaki Land War” to promote the upcoming fixture.
The Chiefs inherited Cooper’s Taranaki in 2013, after they had been aligned with the Hurricanes since Super Rugby’s inception nearly two decades ago, and they have reaped the benefits.
Cooper’s starting side for Friday’s clash features six (potentially seven) Taranaki players in Angus Ta’avao, Lachlan Boshier, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Johnny Fa’auli, Sean Wainui and Charlie Ngatai, with Marty McKenzie bracketed at flyhalf.
How a combination of these players and Cooper’s experience with the side impacts the outcome of the game remains to be seen, but fans can be assured that there will be no sympathy upon Cooper’s Cake Tin return.
CHIEFS
1. Aidan Ross, 2. Nathan Harris, 3. Angus Ta’avao, 4. Tyler Ardron/Michael Allardice, 5. Brodie Retallick, 6. Lachlan Boshier, 7. Sam Cane (C), 8. Taleni Seu, 9. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 10. Damian McKenzie/Marty McKenzie, 11. Solomon Alaimalo, 12. Johnny Fa’auli, 13. Anton Lienert-Brown, 14. Sean Wainui, 15. Charlie Ngatai (C).
Reserves: 16. Liam Polwart, 17. Karl Tu’unukuafe, 18. Jeff Thwaites, 19. Luke Jacobson, 20. Liam Messam, 21. Jonathan Taumateine, 22. Tiaan Falcon/Marty McKenzie, 23. Alex Nankivell.
HURRICANES
1. Toby Smith, 2. Ricky Riccitelli, 3. Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 4. Vaea Fifita, 5. Sam Lousi, 6. Brad Shields, 7. Sam Henwood, 8. Gareth Evans, 9. Jamie Booth, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Ben Lam, 12. Ngani Laumape, 13. Matt Proctor, 14. Vince Aso, 15. Jordie Barrett.
Reserves: 16. James O’Reilly, 17. Chris Eves, 18. Ben May, 19. Michael Fatialofa, 20. Reed Prinsep, 21. Richard Judd, 22. Ihaia West, 23. Wes Goosen.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Anna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe 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.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 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.
11 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.
61 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.
8 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
61 Go to comments