Chiefs 62
Moana Pasifika 17
Those who enjoy a good contest on the footy field would have done well to avoid tuning into the Chiefs clash with Moana Pasifika in Rotorua on Saturday afternoon.
Because this was not competitive. The Chiefs took a stranglehold of the match early and only tightened their grip.
The only team in the competition who Moana Pasifika have yet to score a win over, the Chiefs met little resistance to their free-flowing attack, running in 10 tries to three in a 62-17 demolition job. Former Moana Pasifika winger Kyren Taumoefolau was among four Chiefs to score two tries, alongside No 10 Damian McKenzie, second five-eighths Quinn Tupaea and hooker Tyrone Thompson.
With 44 tries to his credit now, McKenzie takes over as the Chiefs’ all-time leading try-scorer.
“I think we created a lot of opportunities throughout most of the game. A couple of times we weren’t able to finish off some of those plays but we’re happy with the way that we’re playing. We know we’re not the finished product. We’ve shown glimpses of amazing stuff throughout an 80-minute period, and then we’ve shown some stuff where we definitely need to improve,” McKenzie told Sky Sport.
“When you play a decent side like Moana, they’re going to put you under pressure and never go away. It’s awesome to be able to get a great win in front of a great crowd.”
The Chiefs should be credited for ripping the game away from Moana Pasifika early, going up 14-0 after 10 minutes before beating the clock at 21-0 on the 20-minute mark.
The stars were shining early for the Chiefs, with McKenzie and Tupaea heavily involved in everything the side did on attack. Tupaea, in particular, left his mark on the half with two tries and two assists in the Chiefs’ first four tries.
And while they won by 45 points, that margin probably should have been greater.
The Chiefs were guilty of coughing up possession deep inside Moana Pasifika territory on at least four occasions and made 13 handling errors in total.
They also finished the game with 14 players on the pitch, including both hookers and only one prop, and conceded a couple of tries in the final 10 minutes.
“We haven’t trained for that [situation] specifically,” Chiefs coach Jono Gibbes told Sky Sport.
“We got a bit of a lesson there that we can learn from. It forces a few things that you have to change a little bit, but it was at the back end so it wasn’t as crucial.”
While the Chiefs’ attack was running riot, their scrum was dominant and their defence was to be commended, too.
Moana Pasifika did have some promising moments in the first half, but were thwarted at the goal-line as the Chiefs were able to keep turning them back and either force a turnover or earn a penalty.
While Moana Pasifika kept trying with ball in hand, it was only a hopeful chip and chase from Chiefs fullback Liam Coombes-Fabling from inside his own half that opened the door. With the bounce falling kindly for Moana Pasifika first five-eighths Patrick Pellegrini, he had the vision to see the Chiefs had no one at the back and put a chip of his own in for right wing Solomon Alaimalo to cut the gap to 36-7.
That didn’t shift the momentum, though, as the Chiefs ran in a few more tries of their own to lead 55-7, before two late tries through prop Abraham Pole and flanker Miracle Faiilagi added to the Moana Pasifika tally.
The Chiefs, fittingly, had the final say, with Thompson scoring in the final minutes to close out a convincing win.
Chiefs 62 (Quinn Tupaea 2, Damian McKenzie 2, Kyren Taumoefolau 2, Tyrone Thompson 2, Samipeni Finau, Josh Jacomb tries; Damian McKenzie 6 cons)
Moana Pasifika 17 (Solomon Alaimalo, Abraham Pole, Miracle Faiilagi tries; Patrick Pellegrini con)
HT: 26-0