Wainui hailed as Chiefs coach steps back
Clayton McMillan has enjoyed every moment as the Chiefs’ Super Rugby head coach but is happy to step back to the ranks to help Warren Gatland develop the Waikato team’s growing player depth.
McMillan brought down the curtain on his year-long stint in the hot seat with Saturday night’s thumping 40-7 win over the Waratahs in Sydney, a performance crowned by a record five tries to wing Sean Wainui.
He said yesterday that while he had ‘‘really enjoyed the opportunity to be the head coach this year’’ he would easily adapt to an assistant’s role once Gatland returns from his
British and Irish
Lions coaching duties.
McMillan, a former
Ma¯ ori All
Black head coach, said he was committed to doing all he could to ‘‘see the Chiefs winning titles and producing All Blacks’’ and it was ‘‘a little bit irrelevant’’ what role he had within the group.
McMillan was stoked at the depth the Chiefs – Super Rugby Aotearoa runners-up – had developed in 2021 after losing key players such as All Blacks captain Sam Cane and pro Atu Moli to injuries, and with test lock Brodie Retallick in Japan on sabbatical.
‘‘It’s disappointing we aren’t able to contest another final, but I’m absolutely rapt, in both Super Rugby Aotearoa and the Trans Tasman competition with the great depth we’ve developed.’’
McMillan said some players had got ‘‘significant minutes we never anticipated them getting’’ and said some, including loose forwards Zane Kapeli and Viliame Taulani (the only Chiefs tryscorer in Sydney not named Wainui) had made the most of their opportunities.
Meanwhile, McMillan marvelled at Wainui’s seamless return from a hamstring injury as the Chiefs winger feasted on a steady supply of quality ball at Brookvale Oval.
‘‘Scoring a couple of tries in Super Rugby is a pretty good day
‘‘Scoring a couple of tries in Super Rugby is a pretty good day at the office, to get five is pretty incredible.’’
Clayton McMillan on Sean Wainui
at the office, to get five is pretty incredible,’’ McMillan said.
‘‘Even more so when he’s been out of rugby for abut five to six
weeks. To jump straight on and do what he did is a great little milestone achievement.’’
Wainui made a game-high 105m with the ball in hand and created six clean breaks as he showed a clean pair of heels to hapless Waratahs defenders.
The 25-year-old played down his individual effort after the final whistle, telling Stan Sport: ‘‘All I had to do was catch the ball and put it down, bro, the boys did all the mahi’’.
McMillan was delighted with the Chiefs’ clinical finishing. He said their execution had let them down in recent weeks after creating countless opportunities, but it was good to see ‘‘the passes stick’’ and some nice tries notched against the Waratahs.
The only disappointment for McMillan was Vaa’i’s yellow card in the 62nd minute after his head collided with Waratahs playmaker Will Harrison’s.
To many onlookers, it appeared the contact had been accidental, but All Black Vaa’i was sent to the cooler over acting Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson’s protestations.
McMillan did not directly criticise the decision, but he said there was a need for consistency around such sinbinnings.
McMillan said it would be concerning if the ‘‘referee is seeing something different’’ to the ‘‘man watching in a bar’’, fans sitting in the stand, coaches sitting in the box, and television commentators viewing replays on screen. If that was the case, ‘‘there’s something fundamentally wrong there’’.
Wainui will deservedly hog the headlines but the Chiefs had plenty of standout performers.
Taulani’s try was an outstanding finish after a brilliant buildup while Jacobson continued to stake his claim for an All Blacks recall with a strong attacking game, carving off 73m from 10 carries, including two line breaks.
Kapeli joined midfielder Quinn Tupaea as the team’s top tackler with 15 while hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho wasn’t far behind, with 14.