The Chiefs beat the Fijian Drua to go to the top of the table. Photo / Photosport
Chiefs 42
Fijian Drua 22
New Zealand remains undefeated at One New Zealand Stadium.
The Chiefs capped off a perfect Super Round for Super Rugby Pacific’s Kiwi contingent on Sunday afternoon in Christchurch, beating the Fijian Drua 42-22 and ending the round at the top of the leaderboard.
But if the match is remembered for anything, it will be loosehead prop Jared Proffit’s first Super Rugby try, which came from one of the strangest scenarios you will see on a rugby field.
Drua fullback Ilaisa Droasese appeared to put a grubber kick ahead of himself to chase from inside his own in-goal area. The ball didn’t get out of that area as Proffit came flying in to ground it – getting lucky and planting it with his forearm.
It was a patchy performance from the Chiefs, who struggled with handling errors, particularly in the first half as they offered the Drua plenty of extra possessions as hooker Brodie McAlister and openside flanker Jahrome Brown were forced out of the game before the 30-minute mark.
Starting the stronger of the two, it was the Fijians who opened the scoring less than five minutes into the contest. The Drua showed strength and speed with their carries and moved the ball well to storm up the pitch in the opening minutes.
That saw tighthead prop Mesake Doge get an opportunity to score from close range, which he did not pass up.
That seemed to kick the Chiefs into gear, though, as they launched a good attack of their own moments later and looked to have scored a try of their own through right wing Daniel Sinkinson, but it was ruled out after the television match official (TMO) spotted a knock-on by blindside flanker Simon Parker in the build-up.
They did, however, strike from a lineout drive in the 13th minute, with hooker Brodie McAlister planting the ball over the chalk, and hit the lead three minutes later when midfielder Quinn Tupaea scored. That came from a well-worked move from the backs; first five-eighths Damian McKenzie drawing in a defender before putting Sinkinson through a hole on the inside.
But it was a back-and-forth clash with the ball moving freely on both sides and it took some special defence from fullback Isaac Hutchinson to prevent Drua halfback Frank Lomani from scoring after picking off a pass from his counterpart Cortez Ratima.
With Proffit scoring in the 37th minute and Ratima crossing two minutes later, the Chiefs held a comfortable lead going into the break.
That was further extended when Sinkinson crossed a couple of minutes into the second half, but the Drua continued to test the Chiefs with their free-running brand of rugby.
Tries to replacements Kavaia Tagivetaua and Simione Kuruvoli saw them close the gap to 13 points, but a late try to Chiefs replacement back Tepaea Cook-Savage pushed the lead at to a comfortable 20-point margin.
Chiefs 42 (Brodie McAlister, Quinn Tupaea, Jared Proffit, Cortez Ratima, Daniel Sinkinson, Tepaea Cook-Savage tries; Damian McKenzie 6 cons)
Fijian Drua 22 (Mesake Doge, Kavaia Tagivetaua, Simione Kuruvoli tries; Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula 2 cons, pen)
HT: 28-10
Wallace Sititi returns to the Chiefs’ starting line-up after his heroics off the bench to deliver a victory over the Hurricanes and send his team to the top of the Super Rugby ladder.
Isaac Hutchinson will debut at fullback after his recovery from tearing his ACL, MCL and both menisci, and will return in front of a familiar crowd, having attended St Bede’s College and played nine times for Canterbury before making the move to Hamilton.
“Isaac’s return is exciting,” said Chiefs coach Jono Gibbes.
“He’s had a long time out of the game and has shown tremendous perseverance with his rehab and a lot of patience.
“It is great that he will get his chance now.”
The Drua have co-captain Frank Lomani returning from injury and starting at halfback, with Maika Tuitubou making his debut at centre.
The Chiefs are looking for their fifth straight victory in the competition, last achieving this feat in 2023, but the Drua were able to overcome the New Zealand-based side in their last match-up last season.
Chiefs: 1. Jared Profitt, 2. Brodie McAlister, 3. George Dyer, 4. Josh Lord, 5. Tupou Vaa’i, 6. Simon Parker, 7. Jahrome Brown, 8. Wallace Sititi, 9. Cortez Ratima, 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Daniel Sinkinson, 12. Quinn Tupaea, 13. Kyle Brown, 14. Leroy Carter, 15. Isaac Hutchinson.
Bench: 16. Tyrone Thompson, 17. Ollie Norris, 18. Benet Kumeroa, 19. Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20. Michael Loft, 21. Xavier Roe, 22. Tepaea Cook-Savage, 23. Lalakai Foketi.
Fijian Drua: 1. Haereiti Hetet, 2. Zuriel Togiatama, 3. Mesake Doge, 4. Mesake Vocevoce, 5. Temo Mayanavanua, 6. Etonia Waqa, 7. Kitione Salawa, 8. Isoa Tuwai, 9. Frank Lomani, 10. Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 11. Manasa Mataele, 12. Virimi Vakatawa, 13. Maika Tuitubou, 14. Taniela Rakuro, 15. Ilaisa Droasese
Bench: 16. Kavaia Tagivetaua, 17. Emosi Tuqiri, 18. Peni Ravai, 19. Isoa Nasilasila, 20. Elia Canakaivata, 21. Simione Kuruvoli, 22. Kemu Valetini, 23. Inia Tabuavou