Chiefs surge into Super Rugby Pacific final after blowing away Hurricanes in Wellington

Saturday, 15 June 2024

At Sky Stadium, Wellington: Chiefs 30 (Samipeni Finau try 3min, Cortez Ratima try 6min, Daniel Rona try 62min; Damian McKenzie 3 con, 3 pen) Hurricanes 19 (Peter Lakai try 20min, Brett Cameron try 55min, Billy Proctor try 71min; Cameron 2 con). HT: 17-7. Yellow cards: Samipeni Finau (Chiefs) 25min, Luke Jacobson (Chiefs) 49min.

ANALYSIS: The Chiefs have set up a Battle of the Bombays blockbuster Super Rugby Pacific final, after blowing away the top-seeded Hurricanes in a dramatic semifinal in Wellington on Saturday evening.

The ball slipping out of the hands of Canes captain Brad Shields in the tunnel as he led his troops onto the park proved quite the omen, as the hosts coughed up plenty of ball, and were duly punished by a clinical, and gutsy, Chiefs side, who look to be timing their run to perfection in this 2024 redemption mission.

Last year’s runners-up will go to Eden Park to face the Blues full of confidence after this 30-19 victory at Sky Stadium, albeit with something of a hooker crisis on their hands, as neither Samisoni Taukei’aho (Achilles) or Bradley Slater (failed HIA) were able to finish the game.

In a contest which finished three-tries-apiece, the boot of Damian McKenzie proved the difference, the Chiefs No 10 banging over six from six off the tee, including three penalties, his two second-half three-pointers coming from long-range, in tricky kicking conditions.

But the real star of the show was rookie Chiefs No 8 Wallace Sititi, in just his 12th game of Super footy, playing an absolute blinder, against the team his famous father, Semo Sititi, turned out for in 2000.

In a loose-forwards battle that always promised plenty, the 21-year-old went to another level in this fabulous rookie campaign, absolutely owning it, in the end finishing with a ridiculous 150 metres, from 15 carries, with game-high numbers also for clean breaks (two) and defenders beaten (four), as well as being team-high with 13 tackles, with two of the Chiefs’ three tries coming from his barnstorming runs.

The question hovering over the Hurricanes, who have been so impressive under first-year coach Clark Laidlaw in edging top spot on the ladder, was going to be whether they would be able to deliver when the pressure was really on. This was their first semifinal since 2019, and, for many of them, the biggest game of their careers.

And, for the highest-offloading team in the competition, it did not take long for the panic to set in, with some of their passes screaming of desperation, for a team who were indeed playing catch-up from the get-go, at 14-0 down inside seven minutes, and who ended up conceding a whopping 22 turnovers to seven, much of that pressure thanks to a flying Chiefs’ defensive line.

Without a scratched Shaun Stevenson (hamstring), the Chiefs were hardly denied any attacking prowess either, though, with Etene Nanai-Seturo shifting to the back, and Daniel Rona onto the left wing, and the backline fired early.

Pouncing on one of what proved to be several mishaps with the hands by Ruben Love, this one not helped by a shoddy pass from Salesi Rayasi, the Chiefs set things alight by opening the scoring in just the third minute, when Emoni Narawa went on a mazy run, holding the ball tennis-ball-style and popping a wonder-pass for Samipeni Finau to finish in the corner.

That was followed just three minutes later by a contender for craziest try of the season, when Nanai-Seturo’s kick was charged down, and an otherwise-would-be-offside Sititi lapped up a Canes pass and surged away to put Cortez Ratima over, which had the Chiefs coaches roaring, Clayton McMillan banging his desk in delight.

Even two yellow cards failed to halt the visitors’ momentum, with Finau sin-binned in the 25th minute for a head-on-head hit on TJ Perenara − who somehow managed to escape punishment for his own on Sititi later on − and captain Luke Jacobson suffering the same fate for a whack on Jordie Barrett that was deemed late and forceful enough.

Still, the Chiefs mostly adapted best to referee Angus Gardner, who they have now won 12 of their last 13 matches under, while the Hurricanes slumped to a fourth loss in their past six under the Aussie whistler.

The hosts faced a 17-7 deficit at the break, after a first 40 which had three tries rubbed out (one for a Canes forward pass and two Chiefs ones due to Finau’s hit and then his foot just being in touch as he released a pass) and had to come out with something big, having never beaten the Chiefs on the 10 occasions where they had trailed them by double figures at the split.

In a set-piece battle that was even at scrum time but which had the Canes making menaces of themselves at the lineout, there was quite the momentum shift midway through the second half, when Brett Cameron’s 55th minute try brought the hosts right back into it, at 20-14.

But it didn’t take long for the Chiefs to hit right back. No sooner had Josh Moorby dropped a ball over the tryline, it was that man Sititi coming up huge, with wonderful anticipation and magical hands to reel in a short Cameron pass that saw him surge 70 metres for Rona to finish, and keep this shot at redemption alive.