Chiefs emerge victorious from rugged derby
Who doesn’t love a New Zealand Super Rugby derby?
The play isn’t always pretty, but hey, pretty isn’t an adjective typically associated with the sport.
It’s all about the contest, and in a rugged affair in Hamilton last night, the Chiefs edged the Highlanders.
The visitors were forced into a change inside six minutes, with Fletcher Smith replacing No 10 Lima Sopoaga, who went down with a noncontact leg injury.
Enjoying the better of the opening exchanges, the Chiefs looked to open the scoring inside 10 minutes when Damian McKenzie burned his defender to get himself and winger Sean Wainui in a two-on-one situation with Waisake Naholo inside the Highlanders’ 22.
Naholo was up to the task and held his ground to force a play from the Chiefs No 10, which the Highlanders winger quickly snuffed out.
The hosts opened the scoring soon after, with McKenzie slotting penalties in the 11th and 20th minutes.
Against the run of play, the Highlanders scored the first try through Naholo, his seventh in his last six games against the Chiefs.
After repelling every raid in the opening 25 minutes, the Chiefs were caught out when a condensed line inside the 22 left Naholo alone on the wing, and midfielder Rob Thompson picked him out with a beautiful chip kick across the park.
Smith converted and the Highlanders led 7-6. Despite being on the wrong end of a 5-0 penalty count in the first half, the visitors looked like leading at the break but McKenzie had other ideas.
Following suit from Thompson, McKenzie picked out winger Toni Pulu with a chip kick close to the tryline.
Pulu plucked the ball out of the air near the touchline and patted it back inside for Solomon Alaimalo to catch and dive over. McKenzie converted and the Chiefs held a six-point advantage at halftime.
Less than four minutes into the second spell, that lead was extended to 13 when Nathan Harris barrelled over from close range after the hosts strung some passes together to run about 60m.
But the Highlanders were far from done and edged five points closer when halfback Aaron Smith picked out winger Tevita Li with a pass fired across the face of the Chiefs defensive line.
With 20 minutes to go, a horror bounce for McKenzie turned into gold for the visitors. The Chiefs No 10 turned the ball over after his kick rebounded off a Highlander. The visitors spread it to midfielder Sio Tomkinson, who sold a dummy and went in untouched. Fletcher Smith converted, and the Highlanders led once more. It didn’t last long, as Sean Wainui went over in the corner for the Chiefs late on to clinch the match. Chiefs 27 (Solomon Alaimalo, Nathan Harris, Sean Wainui tries; Damian McKenzie 3 cons, 2 pens) Highlanders 22 (Waisake Naholo, Tevita Li, Sio Tomkinson tries; Fletcher Smith 2 cons, pen). HT: 13-7.