The Stats Don't Lie: How the Chiefs went back-to-back

Brodie Retallick again got through a mountain of defensive work and was the Chiefs' top tackler with 17 and no misses. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

Tracey Nelson crunches the numbers following the Chiefs' second straight Super 15 final victory on Saturday.

CHIEFS v BRUMBIES (27-22)

The Chiefs are now just the fourth Super franchise to have won back to back championships, while the Brumbies join the Sharks as franchises who have finished as runners-up on four occasions.

Brodie Retallick again got through a mountain of defensive work and was the Chiefs' top tackler with 17 and no misses. Craig Clarke was the next best and made 14 tackles with just one miss.

George Smith was the top tackler in this match with 20 tackles and two misses. He was also the top ball carrier for the Brumbies with 11 carries for a gain of 60 metres.

Liam Messam was the top ball carrier for the Chiefs with 55 metres made in his 11 carries. He also made 13 tackles with no misses, made a linebreak, and scored the first of the Chiefs' two tries.

Both sides had to make 140 tackles, but the Brumbies fell off 26 while the Chiefs missed just 13. The top offenders for the Brumbies were Ben Alexander and Peter Kimlin with six misses each. Aaron Cruden and Charlie Ngatai both missed two each for the Chiefs.

It was a better night for the Chiefs' lineout, winning eight of their 10 throws (they lost their first throw to an overthrow, and their last throw was stolen). Retallick (four) and Clarke (three) were their top jumpers, while Retallick also stole a throw off the Brumbies.

Discipline was an issue for both teams, particularly at the breakdown where a total five penalties were handed out just for off-side entry into rucks. 17 of the 23 penalties in this match were awarded at the breakdown.

The Chiefs conceded 10 penalties, five in each half. Toby Smith was the most penalised player for the Chiefs with a high tackle and two scrum penalties, followed by Tanerau Latimer with two penalties (obstruction and ruck entry).

The Brumbies conceded 13 penalties, with eight coming in the first half. The majority of their penalties were for incorrect ruck entry or offside play at the ruck, with George Smith conceding one of each.

The Chiefs made eight clean breaks and got away 13 offloads in the tackle, while the Brumbies only managed four clean breaks and seven offloads. Sam Cane and Augustine Pulu were the top offloaders for the Chiefs with two each.

There were plenty of errors when it came to kicking the ball out from a penalty with the Brumbies failing to find the sideline twice (Nic White and Jesse Mogg) in the second half, while Aaron Cruden also missed touch in the first half.

Christian Leali'ifano scored all of the Brumbies points, and his 22 point haul moved him to 233 points for the season putting him ahead of Quade Cooper's previous record of 230 points by an Australian in a Super Rugby season.

Cruden didn't have the 100 percent success rate of Leali'ifano, but managed to kick five from eight attempts at goal including the conversion of Robbie Robinson's try that got the Chiefs ahead on the scoreboard for the first time in the 67th minute of the match.