AT A GLANCE
Chiefs 35 (Tana Tuhakaraina, Jared Proffit, Cortez Ratima, Bradley Slater, Hamilton Burr tries; Josh Ioane con, Josh Jacomb 4 con) Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay 30 (Hiroyuki Yamasaki 2, Koga Nezuka, Satoshi Saita tries; Halatoa Vailea con, 2 pen, Yuhei Shimada con). HT: 21-8
low All Black rep Quinn Tupaea had their moments but were often forcefully shut down in their 40 minutes by the superb line-speed and pressure from Rikus Pretorius and Halatoa Vailea.
The Spears are defending Japan Rugby League One champs, sitting sixth in this year’s competition, and Chiefs ill-discipline at the breakdown, let them work their way back to a five-point ball-game and a nervy finish.
The big moment
With the teams having gone try for try in the second half, the Chiefs profited from a great team effort, with Peniasi Malimali offloading for Hamilton Burr to go 20 metres for a 64th minute finish that kept them with a handy dozen-point buffer.
MVP
Manaaki Selby-Rickit. The 27-year-old will be eyeing a big year with the departure of Retallick, and he’s showed his value early, with a very good 57-minute showing, where he was an absolute beast at lineout time and also took several strong carries.
Match rating: 8/10
Far from a one-sided pre-season romp, this was a decent, closely-fought contest, as each team took their turn to hit back when scored against, and there were good skills on show in all facets, all over the park.
The big picture
The Chiefs return home with a third and final pre-season hitout coming next Friday against the Blues at Onewa Domain. Along with Ioane’s head knock, the only apparent injury was a shoulder issue which forced prop Reuben O’Neill off in the first half.