Rugby: Subs on hand with super pass to turn game

Christian Lealiifano on the way to his try last night. Photo / Alan Gibson

All the signs suggested that it was always going to take a supreme piece of individual skill to decide this one.

Both the Chiefs and Brumbies were so evenly matched - and so well coached - that it needed a tiebreaker and it looked for a long time it would be Christian Lealiifano who had provided it.

For him and the Brumbies, it would have been a fairytale finish - the kid from Waikato who came back in a Brumbies jumper and broke the Chiefs' hearts.

Instead it was the combination of the two super-subs, Bundee Aki and Robbie Robinson, who sealed it following Liam Messam's second-half try.

Aki, who joined proceedings in the second half for Andrew Horrell, broke the line just when his team needed him to after Messam's try put them to within striking distance, and passed a one-hander to Asaeli Tikoirotuma, the movement ending with Robinson, on for Gareth Anscombe, spearing through.

It gave the Chiefs the lead for the first time - 24-22 - and the team which hasn't had to chase too many games this season proved they could do it in the most arduous of circumstances.

It had taken something special to break the early deadlock. Lealiifano's try was the sort that can't be planned for but, as Gary Player used to say, "The more I practise, the luckier I get". The Brumbies' tactic of sending runners up hard on defence in specifically targeted search and destroy missions was unnerving the Chiefs and in Lealiifano's case in the final minutes of the first half it lead to his brilliant individual try.

Image 1 of 10: Chiefs fans show their support before the Super Rugby final match between the Chiefs and the Brumbies at Waikato Stadium. Photo / Getty Images

With Chiefs halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow a bit flustered at the back of a ruck, he threw a pass in the direction of hooker Hika Elliot which never reached him. Instead, Lealiifano swooped, stooping to catch the ball with his right hand he took off on an angled run and managed to reach the tryline before Aaron Cruden clobbered him.

His former Waikato mate Henry Speight took up straight from the re-start, going on a powerful run which suggested the Brumbies had been lifted by Lealiifano's intervention.

The Brumbies second-five hadn't been too shabby before scoring the seven-pointer which broke the 9-9 deadlock, either. His goalkicking has been a work in progress and it turns out it's coming along pretty well.

It obviously wasn't popular with the home crowd but Lealiifano's journey to a sold-out Waikato Stadium hasn't been a pain-free one. For the past four years the 25-year-old has had his Super Rugby season cut short due to serious injuries three times. Last year he broke an ankle 10 games into the season.

His teammates Nic White and Jesse Mogg had long-range attempts before and after the break respectively, but it was Lealiifano's penalty from near the posts which put the Brumbies out to 19-9.

It was his left-foot kick through which left wing Clyde Rathbone flew on to and almost led to a try. At that stage the Chiefs were holding on to the game by their fingernails. Somehow they clawed their way back thanks to that magic moment from Aki and Robinson's ability to be in the right place at the right time.

A magnificent victory for the Chiefs and a deserved back to back title. It was a match worthy of a final and the Brumbies certainly played their part. In the end the little moments fell for the Chiefs and with guys like Aki and Robinson on the reserves bench they had the right men to take them.