SUPER RUGBY QUARTERFINAL: HURRICANES v CHIEFS It’s a whole new ball game
The Chiefs might have landed a wee blow last weekend but now it’s knockout time. Literally.
So, as much as their secondstring lineup’s 28-24 win over the Hurricanes in the final-round of the Super Rugby regular season in Hamilton would have boosted the confidence, they know that it really counts for diddly-squat come tonight’s quarterfinal in Wellington.
The same goes with the Hurricanes’ recent form, having seemingly sleepwalked their way to quarterfinal hosting rights – going from ominously winning 10 on the trot to losing four of their last five.
No, it’s a whole new set of circumstances that will present themselves at Westpac Stadium, where there is no tomorrow for the losing side. What: Super Rugby quarterfinal, Hurricanes v Chiefs
When, where: Westpac Stadium, Wellington, tonight 7.35pm
Hurricanes: Nehe MilnerSkudder, Julian Savea, Jordie Barrett, Ngani Laumape, Ben Lam, Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara, Blade Thomson, Gareth Evans, Brad Shields/Reed Prinsep, Sam Lousi, Michael Fatialofa, Jeff To’omaga-Allen, Ricky Riccitelli, Toby Smith. Reserves: James O’Reilly, Chris Eves, Ben May, Vaea Fifita, Reed Prinsep/Sam Henwood, Jamie Booth, Ihaia West, Wes Goosen/Jonah Lowe.
Chiefs: Solomon Alaimalo, Sean Wainui, Anton Lienert-Brown, Charlie Ngatai (co-c), Shaun Stevenson, Damian McKenzie, Brad Weber, Liam Messam, Sam Cane (co-c), Lachlan Boshier, Michael Allardice, Brodie Retallick, Angus Ta’avao, Nathan Harris, Karl Tu’inukuafe. Reserves: Liam Polwart, Sam Prattley, Jeff Thwaites, Jesse Parete, Mitch Karpik, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Marty McKenzie, Alex Nankivell.
While this will be the Chiefs’ seventh successive away playoff match, it’s home comforts which the Hurricanes can fall back on, having a remarkable record of 21 wins from their last 22 games as hosts (including two in Napier and one in Palmerston North).
That one slip-up, though, last year, was against the Chiefs, who also prevailed in the capital in the 2016 regular season. The Chiefs then went on to lose a semifinal at the same ground that year and were outdone 25-13 there in April this season.
All they know is that if they are to prevail, in what is a traditionally tight affair, they have
to be switched on and raring to go.
‘‘It’s the team that comes with a strong mindset, the team that comes united, the team that comes well led, that’s going to have the edge,’’ coach Colin Cooper said.
‘‘It’s who brings brutality in the physical side of it – the scrum, the lineout, the cleanout. So who wants it more, the game will be governed on that.’’
The Chiefs have had no issue with coming out of the gates of
late, quite the reverse, – not con- ceding a first-half point in their last three outings – so it’s a matter of adjusting their second-half efforts which has been a focus.
Co-captain Sam Cane said it was ‘‘almost human nature’’ to fall away a bit when out to a big lead and the team had to be more disciplined by not giving away penalties and taking safe kicking options when it had to. What he doesn’t want to see, though, is his side going into its shell, due to there being more at stake.
‘‘You’ve got to this stage of the season and you’ve been trying to fine-tune your gameplan to get it here so you can just go out and rip into it.
‘‘But you don’t want to play more conservative, because you don’t want to hold the boys back. Some of our best play has been when guys just go out there and express themselves and don’t sort of have that fear of failure.’’
Remarkably, this will be the first time this season the Chiefs have had the core axis of Cane,
Brodie Retallick, Damian McKenzie and Charlie Ngatai all taking the park when the latter is in his regular spot of second five-eighth (having moved from fullback earlier in the season).
For a team to have got this far without that happening is quite a feat, but now they’ll be hungry to push on.
‘‘This is what we worked for all season, to be in a position like this, to play a quarterfinal,’’ Cane said. ‘‘So the group is pretty excited.’’