Frustrated leaders earn win in the end
14 Waratahs 24 Chiefs
The Chiefs are unlikely to play a more frustrating game than their 24-14 win over the Waratahs last night.
It was largely one-way traffic all evening in Sydney as the Chiefs dominated possession and played the game at the right end of the field.
But their ability to execute inside the opposition 22 at times seemed non-existent and most of their attacks fizzled out through handling errors or penalties.
A lot of that was a result of the pressure the Waratahs exerted at the breakdown, forcing the Chiefs to match that intensity and capitalising any time the visitors were slow to the clean out.
It was all set up so well for the Chiefs early on, as they cracked the Waratahs line just four minutes into the match.
Welcomed into Waratahs territory through a penalty, the Chiefs shifted the ball from the ensuing lineout and Bryn Gatland took an aggressive line to exploit a gap for the first try of the night.
But instead of going on with the job, the Chiefs were contained by the Waratahs defence, despite being constantly given field position through penalties.
What made it all the more frustrating for the Chiefs was that their defence was standing strong and the Waratahs barely fired a shot in the opening 40 minutes. The hosts scored a try of their own in opportunistic fashion as Jake Gordon picked off a Gatland pass and ran away.
The second half started in similar fashion. The Chiefs turned over the ball deep in Waratahs territory immediately following the restart, only to cough up possession moments later.
By the 50-minute mark, Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan had seen enough and called on reinforcements in the form of Shaun Stevenson and Samisoni Taukei’aho.
The pair made an immediate impact, and after a penalty from Damian McKenzie — playing his 100th game for the team — the Chiefs finally crossed the line again through right wing Emoni Narawa.
From there, the game turned completely. After 55 minutes of defensive domination, both sides attacked with vigour and the game suddenly opened up.
With a 10-point lead, the Chiefs looked to get more aggressive at the breakdown and try to force turnovers, but instead, the Waratahs found space to exploit.
The hosts hit back through openside flanker Michael Hooper to close the gap to three after 61 minutes and all the momentum was with the home side.
That was until a deft kick in behind the line from Stevenson was scooped up by Narawa for his second try of the night, pushing the lead out to a more comfortable margin for the final minutes of the game.
The result sees the Chiefs remain unbeaten after the opening five rounds of the season, with a date against the Blues next weekend in Hamilton.
Waratahs 14 ( Jake Gordon, Michael Hooper tries; Ben Donaldson 2 cons) Chiefs 24 (Emoni Narawa 2, Bryn Gatland tries; Damian McKenzie 3 cons, pen)
Halftime: 7-7.