Kirsty Dowling and her family are big Chiefs fans - featuring a Chiefs coloured cast.
Look out Auckland, the Chiefs are coming and so are the fans.
After a dominant victory over the top-seeded Hurricanes last weekend, the Gallagher Chiefs will travel up State Highway 1 to face the Blues in this year’s Super Rugby Pacific grand final on Saturday.
The Blues’ Eden Park fortress sold out hours after tickets went on sale for this last 2024 clash - for which a crowd of more than 44,000 is expected - and a fair few of those will be Chiefs supporters.
Ahead of the match, the Waikato Herald put out a call on social media to find the biggest Chiefs fans in the country.
Kirsty Dowling and her family said they would be a contender for the top spot, and have even decorated their house in Chiefs colours in the lead-up to the big clash. When her son broke his arm in May, there was no question what colours his cast would be.
They would watch the match from home where they’ll be enjoying roasted marshmallows on the fire while they watch “intently” as the Chiefs try to do the same to the Blues.
Meanwhile, Wellington-based Karla Jacobs said she was proud to have converted some Hurricanes supporters to Chiefs fans for this match.
She said “a bunch” of Hurricanes supporters would be heading to her place tomorrow to cheer on the Chiefs.
For Hamiltonian Nikki Roberts, supporting the Chiefs is a family affair, saying it always brought their family and friends together.
“The passion of going to the games at our home ground is what it’s all about. We are all part of the same family - it’s Chiefs Mana. Go the boys tomorrow night,” Roberts said.
“We missed out on tickets to the game but we will be all together in the shed watching.”
But the biggest Chiefs fans could well be Kristie Gribben and her family including brother Karl Sanger, husband Andrew Gribben and 11-year-old son Leo Gribben.
“My whole life, we grew up as a loud and loyal rugby family; Obviously we only had the Mooloos and the All Blacks as kids, with Chiefs coming later, but my whānau embraced and loudly loved them with much pride and mana. My hubby and I are also huge fans, but my stepdad, brother and son live and breathe for the Chiefs,” she told the Waikato Herald.
“They still have their bedrooms decorated with signed posters, flags and memorabilia like you would see in a kids’ room - especially my brother, who is now 37.
“He has passed this love and passion on - as we all have - to my son Leo. He is obsessed. He watches old footage of the players, even before they were famous- like DMac [Damian McKenzie] at high school in the first XV and previous games from before he was even born.
“He memorises all the facts and statistics about the players and loves any opportunity to discuss them with others who know about the players too. He goes to any meet and greets that he can to meet the players.
“He decided at about 6-years-old that he had to go to Hamilton Boys’ High School for his rugby career.”
Maybe one day we will see Leo in Chiefs colours himself as he “knows he has what it takes and he wants to make his dream a reality”.
The battle of the No 8s has been much talked about, after outstanding performances this year from the Blues’ Hoskins Sotutu and young Chief Wallace Sititi.
Sotutu is the son of former Fiji and New Zealand XV rep Waisake Sotutu, while Sititi’s father is former Manu Samoa captain Semo Sititi.
Top-competition points-scorer Damian McKenzie will face off with the other in-form first five-eighth Harry Plummer.
In last year’s Super Rugby Pacific grand final, the Chiefs were defeated by the Crusaders 25-20 in the final at FMG Stadium Waikato in front of 25,000 fans.
The Chiefs’ last title win was in 2013 when they beat the ACT Brumbies, in their back-to-back championship years, led by Liam Messam and Craig Clarke.
Jackson Willison, a 2012 Super Rugby champion, has previously been part of both camps, having played 39 times for the Chiefs (2009-2012) and 22 for the Blues (2013-2014).
“It’s going to be a pretty cool occasion for both franchises. Having been a part of both, they’re proud franchises with a whole lot of history. It’s almost like the dream final,” the former midfielder says.
“The Chiefs lost last year and there was a bit of hurt there - and it was the Blues [the Crusaders beat] the year before. Everyone in the North Island has been waiting for a final like this for a very long time.”
Willison says when the Chiefs won the 2012 final, they were involved a lot in the community that year.
It was a big part of coach Dave Rennie and assistant coach Wayne Smith’s philosophies.
“I remember the build-up throughout the week and the buzz around town, around Hamilton and the Waikato. We knew we’d put the work in on the field and in the community. It felt like we had a wave of support behind us,” Willison recalls.
“It’s a special occasion. A lot of [the players] will have the benefit of having friends and close family in attendance because of the logistics of where the game is being played. At the end of the day, both teams will want to win and it’s going to come down to who executes the best on the park.”
Waikato District Mayor Jacqui Church has secured her tickets for the clash and is ready to support the local squad.
“I think I can speak for all of us here in the Waikato District when I say: Go the Chiefs!” Church says.
“I’ll be there at Eden Park with plenty of fans from our communities who will have made the trip up to the big smoke to cheer on our team.
“[I’m] really stoked to hear it will be a sell-out - it’s going to be great night! Best of luck to Luke Jacobson and the lads - this is our year, so bring it home, boys!”
Waipā District Mayor Susan O’Regan echoed Church’s sentiments.
“We’re expecting that our district will come to a grinding halt at 7.05pm on Saturday as former Cambridge High School student and Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson leads the mighty Chiefs onto the field to challenge the Blues,” O’Regan says.
“There is no doubt the entire team will be using both their strength and determination to bring home the Super Rugby trophy.
“Rest assured, Luke and the team have both Waipā, the ‘Home of Champions’, and the whole Waikato region behind them.
“I will certainly be donning red, black and yellow in support! Go the Chiefs!”
The return to the Super Rugby Pacific final has come at a cost for the Chiefs, who will be without hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho and lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi for the final due to injury.
The pair have been key contributors for the Chiefs in 2024; Taukei’aho leading the way at hooker and Ah Kuoi providing valuable minutes starting and coming off the bench.
They have been replaced by Tyrone Thompson and Manaaki Selby-Rickit respectively.
Taranaki hooker Bradley Slater, who left last weekend’s semifinal win over the Hurricanes under an injury cloud, has been named to back Thompson up.
Shaun Stevenson will line-up at fullback after being a late withdrawal last weekend.
His return pushes Etene Nanai-Seturo back out to the wing, with Daniel Rona moving to the bench and Liam Coombes-Fabling out of the match-day squad.
“It’s unfortunate to have lost some key players through injury, but no team has been immune to this, and you won’t see us worrying about something we can’t control,” Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan says.
“We are genuinely excited for the players who now get their opportunity. In Tyrone Thompson and Manaaki Selby-Rickit, we have two quality players who will serve the team extremely well.”
Both teams will wear black armbands in remembrance of Highlanders player Connor Garden-Bachop who passed away earlier this week. There will be an acknowledgement and a moment of silence ahead of kick-off.
1. Aidan Ross
2. Tyrone Thompson
3. George Dyer
4. Jimmy Tupou
5. Tupou Vaa’i
6. Samipeni Finau
7. Luke Jacobson (c)
8. Wallace Sititi
9. Cortez Ratima
10. Damian McKenzie
11. Etene Nanai-Seturo
12. Rameka Poihipi
13. Anton Lienert-Brown
14. Emoni Narawa
15. Shaun Stevenson
Reserves:
16. Bradley Slater
17. Jared Proffit
18. Reuben O’Neill
19. Manaaki Selby-Rickit
20. Simon Parker
21. Xavier Roe
22. Quinn Tupaea
23. Daniel Rona
Unavailable for selection:
Josh Lord, Gideon Wrampling, Kaleb Trask, Malachi Wrampling, Naitoa Ah Kuoi and Samisoni Taukei’aho.
Jesse Wood is a multimedia journalist based in Te Awamutu. He joined the Te Awamutu Courier and NZME in 2020.
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