Saturday Sep 21, 2024
Saturday Sep 21, 2024
Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Chiefs won the Super Rugby championship for the second successive season, overcoming a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat the Brumbies. Much was expected of the Brumbies in the final and to a certain extent they performed and delivered in the first half.
A combination of loads of travelling in the last three weeks may have finally taken its toll as they failed to protect the 10 point margin of the 45 minutes of play. Take nothing away from the Chiefs as they were very patient and turned up the heat in the last quarter, with the quality of their bench strength being far superior, aided of course by a very vociferous Hamilton crowd.
The Chiefs made subtle changes to their game plan attacking more through the pick and drives by their forwards. It was seen by many that one of the turning points of the game was when man of the match Liam Messam had overcome Nic White with a game-changing ruck cleanout in the Brumbies own ‘22’.
The Brumbies were in the hunt till about the 64th minute after which it was the Chiefs with a vengeance. Skippere Mowen did not believe that the tough travel schedule had an effect in the final quarter. His view was that there were a few decisions by the players that definitely cost them the game. Kicks to touch did not find their targets and high kicks were dropped thereby releasing some of the pressure that had been building.
As an opponent you need to be able to take those releases of pressure and turn those into points which the Chiefs did in the final with finesse. Whether those decisions were brought about by fatigue, is only a matter of speculation. Interestingly, the Chiefs skipper Craig Clarke said the strength of the team’s bench had been critical in winning what he described as “a really tough final”.
Cruden, who unlike the previous game against the Crusaders had a rather shaky night kicking for goal, possibly having left his kicking boots at home as he missed two straightforward penalties and a conversion. But once again the awesome running and rucking power of the Chiefs came to the fore as they swept the Brumbies defence off their feet. In this aspect Hardy and George Smith stood tall for the Brumbies, while Liam Messam was simply stupendous.
In previous years the quality of the bench strength did not play an important role as it does in the modern game, with the bench now expanded to eight. Most teams are recruiting selective impact players who could in the last 20 minutes or so make an impact on the game, similar to the pinch hitter role in cricket in terms of impact. Most coaches and franchises are now willing to put their money on these key substitutes in the belief that they will provide a more than satisfactory return on investment.
Interestingly Clyde Rathbone has lamented the Brumbies’ conservative game plan with which they played territory-based rugby throughout 2013, describing as “poetic justice” their defeat by the Chiefs. He went on to say “I think Jake is coaching in a way that gets you wins, I don’t see it as a coaching flaw, if anything smart coaches are coaching in a way that positions their team to succeed. I think it’s more a case of where the rules are, and where the interpretations are, allowing teams to play in that way.
With the Super Rugby season done and dusted, our attention now moves to the Rugby Championship which kicks off with the Bledisloe Cup on 17 August. Rugby World Cup hero Piri Weepu has been dumped from the All Blacks for the Rugby Championship as coach Steve Hansen looks to the future. McCaw makes his return as All Blacks skipper after his six-month layoff from the game, having missed all of the Super Rugby championship except for a few minutes as a substitute in the play-off rounds.
(The writer can be reached via [email protected].)
