Too little, too late for Chiefs Comeback in vain as Lions hold off depleted home team
The Chiefs’ Super Rugby resurgence is over, with their week turning from bad to worse after being humbled 23-17 in Hamilton by the Lions.
First it was Monday’s news of Damian McKenzie’s season-ending knee injury, then it was Wednesday’s team naming which had fellow All Blacks Brodie Retallick and Nathan Harris, along with key backline member Solomon Alaimalo, to miss the clash, then it was the not so Good Friday for the hosts at FMG Stadium Waikato.
Looking to make it four wins in a row, with away derbies against the Hurricanes and Highlanders next on the agenda, a depleted Chiefs side was instead pulled apart by a Lions side which roared to life after recent struggles.
A second-half fightback wasn’t enough for the hosts, with their 20-0 halftime deficit being too large to reel in, left to rue countless mistakes early on which had stopped them getting on the board till after the hour-mark.
The Lions, runners-up the past three years, had fallen to the bottom of a tight South African conference on the back of a trouncing at home by the Sharks, followed by a loss against the Brumbies in Canberra. Headed for a daunting task against the Crusaders next weekend, they were desperate to find something.
They had winger Courtnall Skosan fly home midweek due to his father being gravely ill, and Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx and playmaker Elton Jantjies were originally surprisingly named on the bench, but in the end they were both late additions to the starting lineup, with Jantjies shifting out one to second five-eighth.
They had a mountain of possession early on and opened the scoring in the 10th minute off the boot of Jantjies.
It was then the home side’s turn to have a mountain of ball at the right end of the field, but they couldn’t find any points.
There always a knock on, a forward pass, or some fine Lions defensive work to stunt the Chiefs’ momentum.
Then, with Angus Ta’avao struggling for a second straight week in his shift to the loosehead side of the scrum, Jantjies was able to double the visitors’ lead nearing the halfhour.
And with the shrill of referee Brendon Pickerill still ringing in his ears, Ta’avao was yet again dominated soon later by a massive Lions shunt, with his opposite Carlu Sadie an appropriate benefactor after the lineout drive with the first try of the night.
There was a fair bit of doubt about its legitimacy, but TMO Shane McDermott ruled the ball did indeed hit the chalk before it was spilled.
But there was worse to come for the Chiefs, when a turnover ball was turned into a second Lions try in the final minute of the half.
Returning skipper and No 8 Warren Whiteley dinked through a nice grubber and winger Aphiwe Dyantyi – last year’s World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year – scooted onto the favourable in-field bounce.
If that wasn’t bad enough for the hosts, the luckless Debreczeni was laid prone while the players left the park, then stretchered off – though was later said to be all right.
After the Lions had first-five Lombard limp off early in the second half, the Chiefs showed fight to get themselves back in the game.
In the 61st minute they finally got on the board, thanks to a brilliant snipe down a scrum blindside from stand-in captain Brad Weber, before nice work from Anton Lienert-Brown and Shaun Stevenson sent Sean Wainui over.
It was Wainui who then burst through the line straight from the kickoff. Dyantyi intercepted to save a try but his kick didn’t go out and a good Luke Jacobson run was soon finished by a barging Nepo Laulala.
Come the 76th minute, the hosts clawed closer, when McKenzie kicked, Alex Nankivell scooped up the ball and offloaded for Tumua Manu to finish.
But, despite the odd decision by Jantjies to kick a drop goal under penalty advantage with 30 seconds left, there was to be no fairytale comeback for the Chiefs.