Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs and Richie Mo'unga of the Crusaders. Photo / Photosport
Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs and Richie Mo'unga of the Crusaders. Photo / Photosport
Unbeaten through nine games. Sitting two wins clear at the top of the table. Trumping the defending champions twice. The Chiefs have every reason to celebrate. At this point, though, they know they have won nothing yet.
With five regular season rounds to play the Chiefs went a long wayto securing home playoff advantage with a 34-24 victory on Saturday night that denied the Crusaders a crucial bonus point.
While hype and expectation mount as the Chiefs continue to prove their ability to mix grinding wins against quality opposition with compelling blowout results, Sam Cane delivered a healthy dose of perspective that speaks to the grounded, driven mentality emanating from this year’s title favourites.
“We know it doesn’t matter what we do during the season,” Cane said after late tries from Shaun Stevenson and Tyrone Thompson maintained the Chiefs unbeaten surge. “Our focus is very much on winning a Super Rugby title and history shows the team that gives themselves home playoff games gives themselves the best chance.
Chiefs lock Brodie Retallick scores a try against the Crusaders. Photo / photosport.nz
“We’re very focused week to week and trying to get better but in the back of our minds we know it’s not going to count for anything unless we can go all the way.”
The 23,000 crowd that filled Waikato Stadium to create an intimidating caldron for the Crusaders was the first sellout of the season in Hamilton but it won’t be the last. Sensing something special brewing, locals are keen to ride the wave.
“You don’t take it for granted because it shows they’re getting behind us, they believe in what we’re doing and in a funny way we’ve earned their trust,” Cane said. “It definitely makes a difference.”
Scott Roberton’s highly successful Crusaders era had never suffered two defeats in the same season against the same opponent.
Achieving that, after backing up their 31-10 round one win in Christchurch, could give the Chiefs a psychological edge should they confront the six-time defending champions when it matters most.
Such a scenario could well transpire for this year’s finale. Despite suffering their third setback this season, Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan knows the Crusaders will be there come the business end.
“This team always thinks we can beat the Crusaders,” McMillan said. “We know we’ve got tools in our arsenal that when we get it right it’s challenging for them. We’ve got some big physical ball runners that can dent holes and guys that bring x-factor and beat players on the outside. When those things come off, that builds our belief.
“You never write these guys off. We all think that to win this competition you’ve got to always keep in the back of our mind we might have to play them three times. Tonight accumulates some points, but that’s it. The season is far from over. This group is very grounded.”
The Crusaders, to be fair, were luckless in the first half with two disallowed tries to somehow trail 12-7. Through their maul, scrum and pressure tactics the Crusaders regained the lead, only for Damian McKenzie to shake off some challenging first half moments to spark the Chiefs to victory.
“He kicked some influential goals and made some telling runs in both halves that got us access behind the Crusaders,” McMillan said. “He had a hand in both tries, but there were times he probably tried a little bit much. The Crusaders came with a deliberate plan of trying to stress him with line speed and we made a few adjustments at halftime. We’re a better team for having him in our side, no doubt about it.”
Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs and Richie Mo'unga of the Crusaders. Photo / Photosport
Robertson noted the 194-96 tackle count reflected his side’s overall dominance and refused to be rattled by twin defeats to the Chiefs.
The 6-3 Crusaders now sit 12 points adrift of the Chiefs in fifth, leaving work to do to avoid a difficult playoff route.
“It just goes to show how much they care and the effort. It was pretty special. It was a reverse of the semifinal last year in some ways,” Robertson said.
“We put so much pressure on them. Those three disallowed tries - everything just added up. We could’ve been better.
“The game management has to be better. Our maul was great. A little bit of execution and completion stuff we’ve got to get that right. But they’re good. You’ve got to give it to them. They’ve built a great roster and anyone that steps in is stepping up. They’ve beaten us home and away and good on them.”
McMillan acknowledged his men largely fed off scraps – the Crusaders ran for 200 more metres and had double the rucks - but after signalling the importance of gaining home advantage for the finals at the start of the season, he is determined to secure that stated aspiration.
“Grit and determination is probably a good summation of the game. We had to grind that one. We rode our luck a little bit. There were a couple of get out of jail free cards in that first half but we stayed in the fight.
“They did everything we anticipated. For large parts we dealt with that really well. The exciting part for me is we showed nothing. We had a whole menu of strikes and we didn’t do any of them. In some respects we’ve kept our powder dry.
“It gives us a little bit of breathing space. That counts for a lot. We’re going to have to give our All Blacks another break between now and quarter-finals. What games you choose to do that becomes a bit easier.”
As the Crusaders can attest, there is nothing easy about confronting McMillan’s resilient Chiefs this year. With Anton Lienert-Brown and Josh Lord to return in the coming weeks, they will take some stopping from here.
