Wallace Sititi acknowledges ‘tough’ 18 months after statement Chiefs win

Wallace Sititi endured a challenging 18-month period plagued by injuries, but the 2024 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year hasn’t skipped a beat after making another Super Rugby Pacific return last month.

Sititi produced a standout performance on Friday night in Hamilton, as the high-flying Chiefs ran away with a ruthless 42-12 win over the Highlanders. It’s the team’s seventh win on the bounce, and sees them keep the pressure on the Hurricanes for top spot.

The 23-year-old crashed over for the Chiefs first try of the round 14 New Zealand derby, charging onto a Naitoa Ah Kuoi inside ball in the 25^th minute. Sititi got the ball a few metres out from the line, and the Highlanders failed to stop the loose forward.

Lucas Casey was arguably best on ground, even in a losing side, but Sitti wasn’t too far behind. The Chiefs and All Blacks enforcer finished with a team-high 15 carries for more than 50 metres, made a staggering 16 stops in defence and won one turnover.

Sititi enjoyed a breakout season in 2024, but missed a large part of last season after undergoing knee surgery. The No. 8 was later ruled out of All Blacks Tests in July with an ankle injury, and has been sidelined for a decent stint this season with a hamstring issue.

“Firstly I’m just happy to be out there,” Sititi said post-game on Sky Sport.

“It’s been a tough last 18 months and I’m just happy to be out there and be surrounded by quality on my left and my right.

“You’ve got guys like Luke [Jacobson], Simon Parker, you’ve got Samipeni [Finau] coming off the bench tonight.

“Our focus was to back up our performance from last week and I thought we did that really well tonight.

“We hold ourselves accountable and we push each other. That challenge within the group is healthy and it’s good for us and we’ll just keep building into the rest of the season.”

The Chiefs dominated early on with 78 per cent territory and 58 per cent possession, but it was the Highlanders who struck first. Casey peeled off a scrum inside midway through the half, beating Josh Jacomb and Xavier Roe en route to the line.

But Sititi’s efforts soon after saw the Chiefs draw level, courtesy of a successful Damian McKenzie conversion attempt. Both Sititi and Ah Kuoi continued to have game-defining influences on the match, as the home side over.

Ollie Norris made a break upfield the prop looked to pass the ball onto Sititi in support, but lock Tomas Lavanini held him back. The Highlanders went down to 14 men for 10 minutes, and Ah Kuoi scored two tries during that period.

It was 21-7 at the half-time break, and it was a similar story during the second term. Csaey was held up over the line by Sititi, and the Chiefs went down the other end and scored themselves through halfback Roe.

Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens brought the Highlanders back into the contest with a quality finish out wide, but the Chiefs held on for the win. Brodie McAlister seemed to seal the win after crashing over form a rolling maul late in the piece.

Kyren Taumoefolau delivered a remarkable flick pass to Kyle Brown in the 84^th minute, which saw the Chiefs cap off another statement result in style. The Chiefs haven’t lost in two months now, but have another two New Zealand derbies coming up.

“The Landers are a quality side when we let them play their game and they showed it tonight,” Sititi explained.

“They started really well I thought, and then we were scrambling a little bit there. I’m just proud of pack here, who fought back the momentum.

“Grateful to get that try at the end as well.”