Chiefs thrash Cheetahs, head off to South Africa
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, March 3, (AP): Defending Super Rugby champions the Chiefs trounced the Cheetahs 45-3 in the third round on Saturday, then immediately embarked for South Africa where their unbeaten start to the season is likely to be tested.
The Hamilton-based team left behind a New Zealand conference table which bore little resemblance to preseason predictions, with themselves and the Auckland-based Blues taking maximum points from two matches and the Highlanders, Hurricanes and seven-time champion Crusaders yet to post wins.
They head to South Africa where the conference standings are also unexpected: With the Bulls and Sharks unbeaten after two games, the Southern Kings 1-0 after a thirdround bye, and last season’s pacesetters the Stormers yet to post a win.
In a jumbled Australian conference, the unbeaten ACT Brumbies top both their region and the overall championship table after a weekend bye. The Queensland Reds have a two win-one loss record, the New South Wales Waratahs are 1-1, the Melbourne Rebels 1-2 and the Western Force are winless after three games.
Leading teams are now under pressure to sustain their winning starts, notably the Chiefs who will face the Cape Townbased Stormers and Port Elizabeth-based Kings in South Africa over the next two weeks.
They backed up their unexpected win over the Wellingtonbased Hurricanes with a second bonuspoint win over the Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs, running in six unanswered tries. But coach Dave Rennie was dissatisfied with his team’s performance and the fact it squandered several scoring chances in the first half.
The Chiefs took 17 minutes to score their first points through a penalty to former Blues fullback Gareth Anscombe, who landed six conversions and a penalty from seven attempts. Anscombe also scored a try to finish with 20 points following his 21-point haul against the Hurricanes.
The Chiefs’ first try didn’t come until the 25th minute when captain Liam Messam crossed, helping his team to a 10-3 lead at halftime. Rennie berated his players at halftime for a lack of execution and they responded by running in five more tries.
“There’s nothing like a good telling off at halftime,” Messam said. “We didn’t turn up in the first half and they were beating us at our own game at the breakdowns.
“So we just went back to basics, winning good, clean ball for our backs and we scored at the end of the line.”
Rennie warned his players that a repeat of Saturday’s performance would not be good enough to win in South Africa.
“It was a frustrating night and we struggled to get things going,” he said. “I don’t know if the guys’ minds were on the plane to Africa tomorrow but it wasn’t good enough.”
The Bulls may pass the Chiefs in transit as they fly to New Zealand at the start of an arduous four-match road trip on which they will face the Blues, Crusaders, Brumbies and Reds. Their 36-26 win over the Western Force earned them a bonus point but was also flattering.
The Force led in each half, the second time at 26-19 when lock Toby Lynn finished off a counterattack from inside their own half with a converted try in the 55th minute.
The home side began kicking less and their forwards gradually wore down the Force. Flyhalf Morne Steyn’s fourth penalty closed the gap to four in the 69th, and two minutes later the Bulls rolled a lineout maul 22 meters to the tryline, sending reserve flanker Jean Cook over for the match-winner.
The Sharks beat the Stormers 12-6 in a match decided entirely on penalties, leaving the Stormers winless after two matches.
The Blues improved their record to two bonus-point wins when they crushed the Crusaders 34-15, by five tries to nil, at Eden Park.
The Christchurch-based Crusaders were playing their first match of the season, launching their campaign to win an eighth Super Rugby title and their first since 2008. They looked hopelessly rusty, lacking combination or penetration and exposing serious gaps in their defensive pattern.
All Blacks fullback Israel Dagg was moved to the left wing for the match and the Blues ran two of their tries down that flank as Dagg strayed out of position. Young winger Frank Halai scored both of those tries, bagging his second double in consecutive matches.
The Blues finished 12th last season and were expected to improve but only moderately under new coach John Kirwan. But Kirwan, advised by former All Blacks coach Graham Henry, has made much greater progress with the Blues than could possibly have been expected, infusing them with the confidence and sense of teamwork that they lacked last season.
“We lost a lot of respect last year and we’re slowly going to try to get it back one game at a time,” Blues captain Ali Williams said.
Kirwan made no effort to hide his surprise at Auckland’s winning start.
“If you had said to Ali and I, sitting having a cappuccino three months ago, that we would have 10 points after the first two games, I would probably have given you a million dollars,” he said.
The Reds posted their second win after a first-round loss when they eased past the Hurricanes 18-12 in a rain-soaked and error-ridden match at Brisbane. Referee Steve Walsh blew 24 penalties which reduced the match to a staccato tempo.