Chiefs beat rain and Hurricanes

AUCKLAND: Three New Zealand derbies down, three victories accrued: this Super Rugby season could hardly have started better for the Chiefs.

What appeared on paper to be a punishing draw continued to prove profitable last night, as the Chiefs beat both the elements and the defending champions in Hamilton.

In unrelenting rain the Hurricanes became the Chiefs’ latest and greatest scalp in the new year.

Dave Rennie’s men made a third straight opposition look ordinary, having stunted the Highlanders and seen off the Blues. Tonight they shut down a Hurricanes side which had opened its campaign by scoring 154 points in 160 minutes, keeping their opposition to just six in the first 60.

More pertinently, they shut down a Hurricanes side which, for all its pace and guile, had recently proven rather adept at adopting a different approach.

But several key qualities of that Hurricanes team were missing last night, replaced by uncharacteristic errors that led to their downfall. There was a level of illdiscipline that led to a couple of yellow cards, there was a succession of mistakes that forced them to spend too much time at the wrong end of the field and, unlike last season’s playoffs, there were a few holes in their defence.

Those breaches were enough for the Chiefs to capitalise, scoring a pair of firsthalf tries courtesy of a dominant set piece and a willingness to take risks at the right time.

Playing in such inclement conditions would have made many teams content to advance their score in multiples of three. The Hurricanes, in fact, chose to pick up a couple of penalties when they were an offer early.

But the Chiefs regularly eschewed the easy option and instead opted to build pressure through a solid lineout and an initially overpowering scrum, a strategy that had the desired effect for the opening hour.

They kicked perfectly throughout exemplified by Tawera KerrBarlow’s pinpoint grubber to create Toni Pulu’s try on the stroke of halftime and they defended doggedly for much of the match.

That threatened to change in the final quarter, as the Hurricanes came to life. TJ Perenara atoned for some earlier errors by scoring a try and, once Julian Savea crossed in the final minute, the visitors were within striking distance.

But the Chiefs moved clear in the Kiwi conference and, with a visit to the Rebels followed by the bye, know the next fortnight will be much more relaxing.