Chiefs a different team with McKenzie in charge
It seems there are two Chiefs teams in Super Rugby Pacific: one has Damian McKenzie in charge, the other is when he’s sidelined.
At No 10 against Moana Pasifika in Hamilton on Saturday, Super Mac had the Chiefs, who won 68-12, running as smoothly as a Rolls Royce.
Like the great ones, McKenzie plays as if he’s seeing the game in slow motion, with ample time to decide whether to run, send a raking kick downfield, or fire a pass like a missile to his support runners.
When he missed a conversion attempt in injury time, after kicking nine from nine, including some from near the sideline, it was almost a reminder he was human, not an AI-generated rugby machine.
If there’s an office sweep on who’ll be the All Blacks first-five this year, be grateful if you draw McKenzie’s name.
Welcome back
Chiefs wing Emoni Narawa’s World Cup dream became a nightmare in France last year when at a training session in Lyon, a disc in his back slipped. His left leg went so numb, he couldn’t feel his toes, and he had to fly home to rehab.
So it was wonderful to see him so commanding against Moana, to the point where, in the process of scoring three tries and setting up one for halfback Cortez Ratima, he had so much pace, he was beating tacklers with almost laughable ease.
Wing is one position where the All Blacks will be spoilt for choice this year. As well as Narawa, Mark Telea and Caleb Clarke are in form for the Blues, and Sevu Reece is sparking like a Roman candle at the Crusaders.
A long way from top to bottom
If the Blues-Western Force game at Eden Park had been a boxing match, a kindly referee would have waved the Force back to their corner and ended it after the first 40 minutes.
The difference between a topranked side such as the Blues and the cellar-dwelling Force was stark. Down 28-3 at halftime, there was never a chance of a comeback for the Force, and the final score of 50-3 could have ballooned out even more.
There were a couple of excellent tries. In the 36th minute, Akira Ioane slipped the ball to brother Rieko on halfway. Rieko fed AJ Lam, and in a flash, halfback Taufa Funaki was dashing to the tryline.
Funaki’s second try, in the 50th minute, came from a superb 40m break by Clarke, who took one of the many aimless kicks by the Force on his own 10m line. He sped past four would-be tacklers and Funaki was again backing up to score.
Who says rugby can’t be genteel?
The best quote of the weekend was captured in the 60th minute of the Eden Park game when Akira Ioane disagreed with a penalty awarded to the Force by referee Paul Williams.
When play broke down, Williams awarded another penalty, this time against Ioane for dissent.
Williams’ explanation to Blues captain Dalton Papali’i wouldn’t have offended Queen Victoria.
“He [Ioane] was the tackler. I don’t know what he said to me after that but it wasn’t very nice.”
Listening to the Scouts
Everyone has known for a week that the Super Rugby Aupuki final was going to be hosted by the Blues or Chiefs Manawa.
The Blues won hosting rights on Saturday after beating the Hurricanes Poua 41-29 and the Chiefs lost 22-20 to South Island side Matatū .
So it’s odd the venue for the final wasn’t announced on Saturday night, or Sunday morning at the latest.
I was never a Scout but their motto “Be Prepared” would have come in handy when arranging the final.
Dumb and stunningly dumber
It was almost hard to believe your eyes when the Drua, who looked on their way to a third Super victory in a row, imploded to lose 41-20 to the Melbourne Rebels after leading 20-8.
I’m don’t think I’ve seen a toddler’s tantrum quite as pathetic as the two red cards that hastened the Drua’s downfall. Frank Lomani’s elbow chop to the back of a head in the 57th minute and Jone Koroiduadua’s head butt in the 74th were not only malicious but also moronic, given they were both under referee Damon Murphy’s nose. There’s been some great footy from the Drua this year. What happened on Friday night defied belief.