Clinical Chiefs punish Waratahs

The Chiefs weathered a stern first-half test and ultimately made better use of their opportunities to beat the Waratahs 30-13 in their entertaining clash in Hamilton on Saturday.

The Australian side turned in a typically determined performance and held the ascendency for long periods but they could not contend with the superior strike power of the Chiefs who ran away with it in the second half as the Waratahs error count mounted.

The Waratahs started in fine style and starved the Chiefs of the ball in the opening stages before scrumhalf Brendan McKibbin broke from the base of a scrum, finding a flying Tom Kingston with a neat inside pass. The big wing showed good strength to get the ball over the chalk to give his side a deserved early lead.

The Chiefs responded by running the ball at the Waratahs from their own half, and it was the visitors who were on the back foot when Aaron Cruden put the flying Tim Nanai-Williams in some space on the outside.

He cut back inside and carried the ball up to the 22 before the support arrived, and a couple of forwards stormed up to the tryline before the ball was sent out to the left where fullback Robbie Robinson was waiting to cruise over for the try.

Cruden's conversion levelled the scores at 7-7, and both sides had given an indication of their capabilities inside the opening ten minutes.

The Waratahs were clearly intent on putting pressure on the home side inside their own half, and they showed impressive ball control as the Chiefs were forced to make tackle after tackle.

Chiefs tighthead prop Ben Tameifuna eventually strayed offside and McKibbin was on hand to kick the penalty which put his team in front once more.

The Chiefs managed to keep them in check thanks to  a long-range penalty from Cruden, and although the Waratahs had worked themselves into an excellent attacking position thanks to a storming run from hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, the Chiefs managed to soak up the pressure and marched into the opposition 22 where they were awarded another penalty.

Cruden slotted it from bang in front, and the Chiefs had a 13-10 lead with half-time approaching, despite the fact that the Waratahs had enjoyed the majority of territory and possession.

To their credit the visitors continued to plug away and put the squeeze on the Chiefs deep inside their 22 just before the break.

First the forwards tried to force it over but Chris Alcock came up short, and from the resulting scrum they shovelled it wide. However, the enthusiastic Chiefs defenders were up quickly and the Waratahs were shoved off the ball after being caught behind the gain line which allowed the Chiefs to hack it into touch and take their slender lead into the changerooms.

The Chiefs started the second half with a bang as they showed an improved ability to hold on to the ball and started to put the pressure on the Waratahs who were on their heels.

Cruden sent the ball out to Sonny Bill Williams and his attempted grubber bounced up off a defender to land in the arms of his midfield partner Richard Kahui. He straightened before floating the ball out to big loosehead Arizona Taumalolo who was flying up on the right wing.

The imposing prop is the Chiefs' leading try-scorer this season, and he had little to do other than skip over in the corner in his bright pink boots for the try. Cruden's conversion stretched the lead to 20-10, leaving the Waratahs with plenty to do.

The Sydney side did not waste much more time in opening their second-half account when Tameifuna was penalised at a defensive scrum, giving McKibbin the opportunity to knock over another penalty and reduce the deficit to 13-20.

The high tempo of the match was starting to take its toll on the players at this stage, and with just seven points in it with 30 minutes left to play the character of both teams would be seriously tested.

The Chiefs jumped back onto attack thanks to a break from scrumhalf Tawera Kerr-Barlow who slipped through a gap before showing good strength to stay on his feet and get the pass away to Williams as the Waratahs scrambled back.

The ball was eventually worked out to the speedy Nanai-Williams who had a crack at the tryline in the left corner, but the Waratahs were there in numbers and managed to hold him up.

Next it was the forwards who rumbled it over the line from the resulting scrum, but they too were held up as the Waratahs hung on, showing good defensive commitment.

However, something had to give and Cruden restored the 10-point advantage when the Waratahs entered the ruck from the side, giving him an easy shot at goal.

The home side struck the killer blow shortly afterwards when their pack put the Waratahs scrum under huge pressure near halfway. The backpedalling Lopeti Timani tried to flick the ball to fellow replacement Sarel Pretorius but young Chiefs flank Sam Cane showed great awareness to grab the intercept.

He got a great offload away to Kerr-Barlow who made some ground before finding a flying Liam Messam who charged over in the right corner for a great try that was the result of immense pressure from the Chiefs forwards.

There was enough time after that for a weaving run from Taumalolo who brought the crowd to their feet as he hit a gap and threw a dummy to get his team back onto the front foot.

The Chiefs threw everything they had at scoring the vital fourth try and came desperately close, but could not cap an impressive second-half performance and had to be content with the four log points.

Man of the match: Arizona Taumalolo always plays with great enthusiam and he was at his best again in this match, putting in a strong performance up front and showing some silky skills with the ball in hand.

The scorers:

For the Chiefs:
Tries: Robinson, Taumalolo, Messam
Cons: Cruden 3
Pens: Cruden 3

For the Waratahs:
Try: Kingston
Con: McKibbin
Pens: McKibbin 2

Teams:

Chiefs: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Kane Thompson, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke (captain), 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Arizona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Michael Fitzgerald, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Andrew Horrell, 22 Lelia Masaga.

Waratahs: 15 Bernard Foley, 14 Tom Kingston, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9  Brendan McKibbin, 8  Wycliff Palu, 7  Chris Alcock, 6  Dave Dennis, 5  Kane Douglas, 4  Dean Mumm, 3  Sekope Kepu, 2  Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1  Benn Robinson (captain).
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Paddy Ryan, 18 Sitaleki Timani, 19 Lopeti Timani, 20 Jono Jenkins, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Daniel Halangahu.

Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)