Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs gets past Rieko Ioane of the Blues. Photo / Photosport
Chiefs 20
Blues 13
The Chiefs are venturing where none of their predecessors have gone before.
With a 20-13 win over the Blues last night, the Chiefs set a new team record by winning six straight games to begin a season.
They stood up defensively, kicked to space well and backed their ability to turn the Blues away to get the job done.
That ability was given a stern test, too, particularly in the second half where they never threatened the Blues line and were often camped on their own, after hitting the lead early on a wet night in Hamilton, and they were often under pressure, be it through penalties or the huge Blues scrum which had the number of their opposites all night.
But while it was a good, physical battle, which remained in the balance until the final moments, the main point of discussion on Monday will be the performance of Beauden Barrett. The incumbent All Blacks No 10 was far from his best.
There were plenty of good moments from Barrett, particularly in the second half as he began to pull the strings nicely against a tiring Chiefs defence, but they were overshadowed by some uncharacteristic errors. The most bizarre of which came as he tried to better the position of a would-be try under pressure, and ended up putting his foot on the dead ball line. He was saved some blushes by his side playing under advantage, and the Blues eventually scored in the corner through Caleb Clarke, but it was a strange sight from such an experienced player.
On the other side, Chiefs first-five Damian McKenzie was superb in the first half and showed great vision to set up an Emoni Narawa try inside the opening 30 seconds. But he, too, was guilty of getting basics wrong – highlighted by sending a goal-line drop out over the sideline on the full to welcome pressure on his side. He did, however, atone by stopping a charging Rieko Ioane on his own line and forcing a knock on.
Expected to be a tough, physical battle, the Battle of the Bombays didn’t fall short. The Chiefs shocked the Blues almost immediately, stealing the ball at the breakdown before McKenzie stabbed a grubber behind the Blues defences and Narawa won the race.
It was a bad start for the visitors, but they quickly put it behind them and enjoyed a long period of domination in possession which ultimately led to Ricky Riccitelli getting low and carrying strong from close range to hit back.
Being on the wrong end of a 6-1 penalty count inside the opening 15 minutes hurt the home side as they saw the Blues take the lead through Clarke after Barrett’s bizarre bungled effort, but they soon cleaned up their discipline and reaped the rewards.
The Chiefs played the latter end of the first half with some possession, seeing Brad Weber and Samisoni Taukei’aho go close before Narawa grabbed his second of the night, showing a great awareness of the sideline to go with his finishing ability. It was Narawa’s fifth try in the last three games; a player making the most of his chances.
Leading by seven at the half, the Chiefs welcomed the Blues into attacking position by knocking on the kick off, and that set the narrative for the second half; the Blues putting plenty of pressure on the Chiefs line, but the Chiefs defence up to the challenge.
Neither side were able to score a try in the second half, but traded penalties; the Chiefs defence standing up on their own tryline several times, including the final moments of the match to close out the win.
Chiefs 20 (Emoni Narawa 2 tries; Damian McKenzie 2 cons, 2 pens)
Blues 13 (Ricky Riccitelli, Caleb Clarke tries; Beauden Barrett pen)
HT: 17-10
Usyk won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 116-112.