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'No one gave us a chance': How the Chiefs went from a record-equalling losing streak to play-off contenders

By Sam Smith
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

By the time 80 minutes was up at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday, both the Highlanders and Chiefs faced a historic first for Super Rugby Aotearoa.

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For the first time ever in the competition’s short history, a match would go to golden point to decide a victor.

The Chiefs had shown some positive signs in the weeks leading up to this contest, with an incredible come from behind win over the Hurricanes in Wellington before fullback Damian McKenzie scored a last-minute winner in an upset over the Blues.

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Liam Messam on Brodie Retallick

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Liam Messam on Brodie Retallick

But golden point would be one of, if not the toughest test they’ve faced so far.

Considering Highlanders replacement Josh Ioane had scored 10 unanswered points in seven minutes to send the two teams to extra time, momentum was against them and so were the fans.

But a long-range McKenzie penalty goal left the Dunedin crowd stunned as the Chiefs extended their winning streak that started in Wellington last month.

Speaking after the match, interim head coach Clayton McMillan initially described the match as “bittersweet” before later commenting on the “encouraging” performance from this side.

“It was really nice to get that win because I think it’s a critical game in the competition,” McMillan said.

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“But, from where I sat, it looked untidy, it looked like two teams that were really pretty desperate. The accuracy at times was not great, it was a bit of a stop-start game but still grateful that a young team got across the line.

“We just showed a bit of patience to get down the other end of the field and force a penalty. When you do those [things], that’s really encouraging signs because when the blow torch is on you like that you either step up or you step down.”

For the Chiefs, it was their third win a row, and they now sit third on the Super Rugby Aotearoa standings with a few weeks to go.

Considering their form both last year and throughout the first fortnight of the competition this season, it’s been quite an impressive rise.

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“No one gave us too much of a chance last time we played, and it didn’t look too well after two weeks but we ground away,” McMillan said.

“We’ve done it a number of different ways, we’ve come from 25 points down and then we snuck in front and scored in the last minute and we’ve that again today. Those are encouraging signs from a young squad.

“We’ve got a young squad and you just can’t get through this competition, I don’t believe, chucking the same 15 or 17 players out there. Our squad is our squad, we believe in everybody.”

One of the two try scorers for the Chiefs in the win over the Highlanders was prop Angus Ta’avao, who scored with just under 20 minutes to play. Ta’avao also spoke post-match after the match about the significance of the win.

“We’ve won three on the trot now, it’s a different change room than [the] 11 [losses] in a row,” he said. “The boys are up and looking forward to next week.

“You look at those 11 games and most of them were lost within five points. We’ve just worked really hard on the little moments, and winning those little moments.

“Once you have a couple of wins you start to feel pretty good about yourself, and you just keep building on what’s working.

“It was a weird first half. A lot of the boys felt like we didn’t do much because there were so many of those penalties and little things like that.

“When we take those away, and we can control what we do and look after the ball, we feel like we can beat any team. There’s a lot of belief in our camp. You look at this competition, anyone is in it.”

While momentum is such an important factor in sport, the Chiefs will face another tough matchup this week against the reigning champions, the Crusaders, in Hamilton.

But, as McMillan suggested after the match, playing at home could be a major boost for the Chiefs.

“I really hope that our passionate Chiefs supporters get behind us in Hamilton next week. If we can get close to a full stadium, then I truly believe that we have the capacity to give the current champions a bit of a shake.”

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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