Chiefs charge into Super Rugby Pacific final after belting Brumbies in Hamilton

Saturday, 14 June 2025

At FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton: Chiefs 37 (Emoni Narawa tries 20min, 46min, Josh Jacomb try 64min; Damian McKenzie 2 con, 6 pen) Brumbies 17 (Billy Pollard try 15min, Corey Toole tries 35min, 44min; Ryan Lonergan con). HT: 19-12.

Yellow card: Tupou Vaa’i (Chiefs) 8min

The Chiefs have given themselves a shot at making it third-time-lucky, and sending coach Clayton McMillan off in style, after booking themselves a spot in the Super Rugby Pacific final against the Crusaders in Christchurch.

The two-time reigning runners-up will once more feature in the title decider after bouncing back from their botched Blues job last week and belting the Brumbies 37-17 in Hamilton on Saturday night.

However, the semifinal win may well have come at a cost for the Chiefs, with fullback Shaun Stevenson failing an HIA in the second half which could have him on a mandatory 12-day stand-down and prove a sad way for the centurion to end his time with the side, before he jets to Japan next year.

Aside from that, the Chiefs, and their patiently-waiting fans, craving a first title since 2013, will feel good about their prospects, after producing a much more impressive display in this second week of the playoffs.

Emoni Narawa scored two tries as the Chiefs beat the Brumbies in their Super Rugby Pacific semifinal in Hamilton.

This week, the crowd of 14,536 at FMG Stadium Waikato were left with all fingernails intact, as, despite it being a three-tries-apiece contest, their side were always in the driver’s seat, punishing the Brumbies’ ill-discipline (11-6 penalty count) as Damian McKenzie knocked over six penalty goals.

Emoni Narawa scored a double, while Josh Jacomb’s 64th minute score sealed the deal, with that strike as slick as the Chiefs have looked at any point this season, with clean lineout ball and a set-move featuring crisp passes having McKenzie put his understudy over the line.

If that wasn’t the moment, which put the Chiefs 20 ahead, then straight after missing his first shot of the night (his ninth attempt), McKenzie then produced one of the plays of the season, at the other end of the park, brilliantly running down silky Brumbies fullback Tom Wright (a game-high 163 metres) to get his arm under the ball and pull off an amazing try-saver.

In a game where the Brumbies enjoyed a 55% possession and 54% territory, and had to make 85 fewer tackles than the Chiefs, the visitors slipped off five more than their hosts, and it means a fourth semifinal exit from four years for them in this competition, and also stretched the finals hoodoo in New Zealand for Australian teams to 21-0.

Stephen Larkham’s outfit certainly started in decent fashion, with the Chiefs, in complete contrast to last week, spending the opening quarter camped in their half, and not even setting foot in the Brumbies’ 22 until 16 minutes in, while also having themselves under early pressure with Tupou Vaa’i yellow-carded in the eighth minute for a shoulder to the head of Billy Pollard.

Billy Pollard goes on the charge for the Brumbies, who bowed out at the semifinals stage yet again.

However, the Brumbies soon after also suffered their own, even worse, early setback, with first-five Noah Lolesio looking to be clutching at a shoulder, only for his issue to in fact be an HIA, which he then failed, leaving 2019 Chief Jack Debreczeni thrust into the driver’s seat.

After Pollard had bagged the first points of the night via a rolling maul, the Chiefs, freshly back to 15, were able to hit back when Quinn Tupaea expertly claimed a high ball then also produced a strong hit and spin which laid the foundation for Narawa to pick and surprisingly burst straight through a ruck from six metres out.

As tensions boiled over, with a decent scrap on the sideline seeing Brumbies No 8 Tuaina Taii Tualima bent over the hoardings and into the front row of the crowd, McKenzie kept the scoreboard ticking off the tee to keep the hosts with a cushion (going to halftime 19-12 ahead).

However, two superb tries to Corey Toole either side of halftime ensured the Brumbies weren’t going to be exiting stage left without a decent fight.

His first came after a penalty advantage had Debreczeni kick for the unmarked left winger, who did very well to get the ball down just inside the touch-in-goal line, then his second was off the back of the Brumbies brilliantly keeping the ball alive through the hands and having him go 30 metres down the touch, around George Dyer and bumping off McKenzie.

However, the Chiefs took absolutely no time to hit back and restore their level of comfort. A Vaa’i charge down laid the platform, with the Brumbies under pressure to clear and it gave McKenzie dangerous ball to play with from the backfield, slicing the visitors open, as Tupaea followed up strongly and a great Leroy Carter charge and magical offload had Narawa dive over for his double.