Now we’ll get to see a final where the two teams that have conclusively proven themselves as the best will decide who has the backbone, the daring, and the nerve to take the title.
A star is born
Chiefs No 8 Wallace Sititi had his best game of the year at exactly the right time in Wellington. “He’s a special kid,” said his captain Luke Jacobson, which perfectly summed up the 21-year-old’s extraordinary display which involved 17 dynamic carries and 12 tackles.
The final, where Sititi will mark the Blues’ in-form No 8 Hoskins Sotutu, will tell us a lot more about Sititi’s chances of being a bolter in the first All Blacks squad of the year.
What you can say with certainty, is that he was born to be a fearless battler. His father, Semo, captained Manu Samoa as a rugged loose forward at two World Cups in 2003 and 2007. While Wallace was born in Samoa, he lived his first five years in Scotland, where his father played for the Borders club. Wallace’s Christian name is actually his parents’ tribute to a great hero of the Borders’ region, Scottish warrior William Wallace of Braveheart fame.
Game, set and, basically, match
Hometown advantage for the Hurricanes was swept away in the first 14 minutes by the Chiefs, who went up 17-0 in that time.
The rocket-fuelled start began with a sensational run in just the second minute by wing Emoni Narawa to set up a try for flanker Samipeni Finau. Just as impressive was the composure the Chiefs showed as the points mounted.
With Damian McKenzie in impeccable kicking form again, the decision to take the penalty that stretched the lead to 17 points spoke of calculation which, in knockout games, can be as important as brilliance.
A role reversal?
Ask anyone on the streets of Te Awamutu or Morrinsville and they’ll tell you the edge for rugby teams from the Waikato area playing Auckland has always been in the forwards, where the Queen St Yanks can’t match the grit of the rural grafters in red, yellow, and black.
But this year the balance has shifted. Amongst many fascinations next weekend will be how the Chiefs deal with the Blues forwards, who, despite the loss of Patrick Tuipulotu, have developed to the point where they’re the secret of the team’s success.
Guided by former All Blacks prop Greg Feek, the Blues are rock solid at the scrum and their rolling maul is a fearsome strike weapon. There’s nothing to choose between the opposing loose forward trios. But, especially if Chiefs’ hookers Samisoni Taukei’aho and Bradley Slater are unavailable because of injury, matching the Blues’ tight five will present a huge challenge for the Chiefs.
The form book was right
There was never much buzz about the Brumbies coming to Auckland for the first semifinal, and as the Blues raced away to a 24-6 lead after 20 minutes, the final win, 34-20, was inevitable.
Under such intense pressure, the Brumbies didn’t collapse. But late in the game, when they needed ice-cold decision-making to have any chance of a miracle comeback, there were scatterbrained decisions and aimless kicking that must have appalled their coach Steve Larkham. In an 11-year, 102-test career as a Wallaby, Larkham was as smart and calculating as any first five-eighths who has ever played the game. In the current Brumbies at Eden Park, there weren’t too many hints of that sort of on-field control.
Contests within the contest
There are a host of individual match-ups to add to the drama in Saturday’s final. The Chiefs’ star wing Narawa marking Caleb Clarke, who was razor sharp against the Brumbies is one. The Blues’ Rieko Ioane facing Anton Lienert-Brown in the midfield is another. And the scramble at the breakdown between Blues captain Dalton Papali’i and the Chiefs leader, Jacobson, will be intense.
But the most fascinating will be at first five-eighths, where the Chiefs’ McKenzie, masterly in Wellington against the Canes, will be opposed by Harry Plummer, who has become a guiding light for the Blues.
Super Rugby has plenty of faults, but this final has teams of such abilities the intensity will near test match level. How McKenzie and Plummer respond to the challenge could decide the match.
A great stage
Barring flooding and thunderstorms, there should be a huge crowd at the final which would make the setting perfect. When Eden Park is full, or near to it, the atmosphere is electric. The ground’s history adds an extra depth to the drama. From hosting the first men’s World Cup in 1987, to the delights of the Black Ferns’ win against England in front of 42,000 people in 2022 in the World Cup final, some of rugby’s greatest days have been played out on the ground. Hopefully, Saturday will add another impressive chapter.
