Chiefs too good for 14-man Force
The Chiefs recorded a bonus-point 35-27 win over the Western Force in Hamilton on Friday, to reclaim first place on the Super Rugby standings.
The Force, who were not given much of a chance to start with, played the game with 14 men for more than 50 minutes - after Ian Prior was red-carded for a spear tackle.
The visitors did get the consolation of a four-try bonus point, after fighting back in the second half - having trailed 8-23 at the break.
However, the Chiefs - despite a very scrappy and disappointing display in the second half - managed to get two crucial scores to secure the bonus point and the win.
The 2012 and 2013 champions were in danger of blowing a 30-8 lead, as their renowned defence deserted them in the second half - leaking three tries despite having that one-man advantage.
The New Zealanders showed they have able replacement for injured pivot Aaron Cruden in Marty McKenzie, who nailed six of his seven kicks, but must improve in defence to have any title hopes.
It was the ninth consecutive loss for the Force, who remain at the bottom of the ladder.
Until then, they had been holding their own, scoring the opening try through Angus Cottrell after battering the Chiefs through 13 phases of play in the lead-up.
Chiefs centre Charlie Ngatai hit back almost immediately, then Prior's dismissal changed the balance of the match.
The Chiefs pressed home their advantage when Hika Elliot scored from a rolling maul to make it 23-8 at half-time.
They took just five minutes to score another five-pointer after the restart, with referee Angus Gardner awarding a penalty try after the under-manned Force collapsed a scrum illegally.
With the score at 30-8, the Australians were under constant pressure and it appeared a blow-out was looming.
But the Force rallied when a stray pass allowed Luke Morahan to run almost the length of the field for the their second try.
Incredibly, a third followed just minutes later when Matt Hodgson powered over off the back of a maul, with the conversion narrowing it to 30-22 with 20 minutes to go.
The Chiefs snuffed out hopes of an upset when Nanai-Williams weaved past five defenders for the hosts' fourth try to make it 35-22.
However, the Force still had enough attacking gusto to set up Heath Tessmann for the fourth try and a consolation point.
Man of the match: Matt Hodgson gave his all for the Western Force, as he always does, but just did not get enough support from his teammates. You can always bank on Brodie Retallick to do the hard yards up front, Sonny Bill Williams produced his usual brilliance and Charlie Ngatai also caused the Force defence all kinds of problems. However, our award goes to Chiefs wing Tim Nanai-Williams. Like most of his teammates he wasn't flawless, but he made the plays that counted - including a crucial bonus-point try with just over 15 minutes go, to kill of the Force comeback.
The scorers:
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Ngatai, Elliot, Nanai-Williams, Penalty try
Cons: McKenzie 3
Pens: McKenzie 3
For the Western Force:
Tries: Cottrell, Morahan, Hodgson, Tessmann
Cons: Burton 2
Pen: Burton
Red card: Ian Prior (Western Force, 28 - foul play, spear tackle)
Teams:
Chiefs: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Charlie Ngatai, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Johan Bardoul, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Matt Symons (captain), 3 Siate Tokolahi, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Mitchell Graham.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Pauliasi Manu, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Michael Fitzgerald, 20 Liam Squire, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Andrew Horrell.
Western Force: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Luke Burton, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Ian Prior, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Angus Cottrell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pekahou Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20 Kane Koteka, 21 Ryan Louwrens, 22 Junior Rasolea, 23 Marcel Brache.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Kane McBride (New Zealand), Mike Lash (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)