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Why Jono Gibbes hopes Josh Jacomb will rue walking away from Chiefs
By Henry Lee at Eden Park, Auckland
Life at the Chiefs has started on a positive note for new head coach Jono Gibbes, claiming victory over North Island rivals the Blues at Eden Park on Saturday evening.
Gibbes’ side was helped by two late tries from his All Black stars, with hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho going over through a dominant rolling maul, before Cortez Ratima secured victory after Samipeni Finau and Tupou Vaa’i were able to link up.
But before their late flurry of tries, the Chiefs had some impressive moments in the contest, one of them being a left-footed 50/22 by All Black XV first five Josh Jacomb.
Jacomb had received the ball inside his own half before identifying the space down the Blues’ right-hand side, firing a kick that gave the Chiefs the opportunity to take control of the game.
It wasn’t Jacomb’s only moment in the game, and despite having some wobbles on the tee to begin with, the 24-year-old steadied the ship well for the away side.
Jacomb has signed a deal with the Highlanders in 2027, and Gibbes believes that if he can try and make the playmaker regret his decision, he’s done his job correctly.
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“My goal was to make him regret his decision every day, that he loves the Chiefs, he loves the environment,” Gibbes said post-match at Eden Park.
“He’s getting awesome coaching, and if I can put him in doubt of his decision, because we rate him, we really like where he’s at with his game, I really like the person. So, yeah I want to put positive pressure on that way.”
On Jacomb’s round one performance, Gibbes admitted that the first-five hit the expectations they had of him, and provided the Chiefs with a platform.
“Yeah I think he met expectations, to be honest, he was the Duane Monkley winner in Bunnings NPC, he brought that through, had a great experience with the All Blacks XV in November, and since January, he’s continued to progress.
The 49-year-old head coach explained that not only does the first-five have lots of expectations around him with Damian McKenzie missing, but his effective communication on the field also showcased his growth as a player.
“So this key position obviously has a lot of responsibility in here and I think throughout the week, his messaging, his direction, that he gave the players was really accurate, was on point, and it wasn’t an armchair for him tonight, that’s for sure,” Gibbes told media in Auckland.
“But I think his growth out of those 80 minutes will be massive.”
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