Chiefs dedicate Tens title to Lauaki
Inaugural tournament champions honour the passing of their former teammate
An inspired Chiefs side have dedicated their Rugby Tens triumph to the memory of former All Blacks and Chiefs loose forward Sione Lauaki. Lauaki’s death in the morning impacted heavily on the Chiefs, who he played for 70 times, with the franchise harnessing their emotion to pay tribute to their fallen teammate on the field.
They won all four games yesterday in the blistering Brisbane heat to charge to the title, toppling the Crusaders 12-7 in the final.
At the heart of their success was captain Liam Messam, a good friend of Lauaki’s who played in his honour.
Messam was given permission to fly home immediately after their quarter-final against the Queensland Reds but decided to play on and led the Chiefs to the title.
“There’s a number of guys who played a lot of footy with Wax [Lauaki],” Chiefs coach Dave Rennie said.
“Liam Messam, in particular, is a great mate of his, so it’s been a pretty upsetting morning.
“We gave Liam the opportunity not to play and head home straight away but he was determined to go out and put out a performance for Wax.”
A minute’s silence for Lauaki was held before the Chiefs’ pool game against the Wild Knights, with some Chiefs players in tears pre-match.
That game, won 33-5 by the Chiefs, started their excellent run of results, edging the Reds 12-10 in the quarterfinals and overwhelming the Bulls 26-14 in the semifinals.
They needed a comeback in the final, after going behind early in the piece.
Despite the free-flowing nature of the event, the Crusaders’ opening try in the final came from a traditional source, with a five-metre lineout Taniela Tupou has been suspended for this butt on Liam Messam.
We gave Liam the opportunity not to play and head home straight away but he was determined to go out and put out a performance for Wax [Lauaki]. Chiefs coach Dave Rennie
leading to a lineout drive which saw hooker Andrew Makalio dive over.
The Chiefs suffered injury blows which could impact their Super Rugby season, with livewire halfback Brad Weber and prop Mitchell Graham both stretchered off with serious leg injuries.
After those two lengthy stoppages, the result seemed less important, but Luke Jacobson pounced on a Crusaders error to score a runaway try just before halftime, with the conversion giving the Chiefs a 7-5 lead at the interval.
Crusaders forward Jed Brown was sent to the sinbin early in the second half after infringing at a ruck, and the Chiefs took advantage, with standout outside back Shaun Stevenson showing sublime footwork to set up Taleni Seu to dot down out wide — a try that would seal the victory.
The tournament was dominated by New Zealand sides, with four qualifying for the quarter-finals and three reaching the semifinals. The Blues were the only Kiwi team not to advance, drawing one and losing two in pool play.
The Highlanders were knocked out in the quarter-finals 7-5 by the