Luke Jacobson of the Chiefs dives in for a try against the Brumbies. Photo / Getty
Luke Jacobson of the Chiefs dives in for a try against the Brumbies. Photo / Getty
Chiefs 40 Brumbies 19
The Chiefs have sent a clear message throughout 2021: If you're going to take them on, your forwards had best come prepared.
Against every team they have met this year, the Chiefs scrum has provided a stern test, and on Saturday night, it was the Brumbies whosat the test, and struggled as the Chiefs ran out to 40-19 winners.
The tone was set early by the Chiefs, with lock Tupou Vaa'i scoring the first try of the night with relative ease from a lineout drive. It was the first of three first-half tries that came from the pack going over the top of that of the Brumbies, with Chiefs No 8 Luke Jacobson scoring twice from the back of scrums on the Brumbies' five-metre line.
When the Brumbies could get some flow to their play, they looked dangerous. Centre Len Ikitau was put through the defence to level the scores at 5-5 after 12 minutes, but the chances for the Brumbies were few and far between.
While the forwards were impressive at the set piece, the Chiefs were active as ever on defence, and forced several turnovers - mostly through backline players, with first five-eighth Damian McKenzie getting stuck in and earning two turnovers.
Luke Jacobson of the Chiefs dives in for a try against the Brumbies. Photo / Getty
Leading 19-5 at the break, the hosts were in a terrific position to go on and earn their first bonus point of the competition, and that possibility become all the more realistic just five minutes after the restart when McKenzie dotted down.
The forwards set the tone in the first half, and the backs followed suit in the second. Things opened up as the game progressed, and the hosts pounced on the open spaces. Second five-eighth Alex Nankivell was next over, six minutes after McKenzie. Openside flanker Lachlan Boshier - who had a whopping 26 tackles - had the presence of mind to find Nankivell in support after being taken down just short of the line, and Nankivell made no mistake with the finish.
The Brumbies hit back through replacement midfielder Bayley Kuenzle, who scored just one minute after entering the game, to give themselves a glimmer of hope. But when Chiefs centre Anton Lienert-Brown finished off a dazzling full-field move to put the hosts ahead by 28 inside the final 20 minutes, the hill looked far too steep for the Brumbies to climb. They snared a consolation try at the death through No 8 Rob Valetini, but the Chiefs still finished with three tries more than the Brumbies to secure the maximum five points.
There was a moment of celebration in the second half for the Chiefs, as prop Atu Moli made his first appearance of the year. Moli, a four-test All Black, has had a horror run of injuries – dealing with a haematoma in his quad in 2018, an elbow injury in 2019 and an issue with his hips in 2020 which kept him sidelined throughout both seasons of Super Rugby Aotearoa. The 25-year-old has played just 15 of the Chiefs' last 58 games – dating back to the opening round of the 2018 season – and returned to the field with a wide grin.
But while they welcomed back Moli, Vaa'i was out of the game early after suffering an injury just before halftime.
