From Hamilton
The Brumbies fairytale season went on the line in Hamilton as they took on the defending champions, the Chiefs in the final.
The big question is could the Brumbies overcome their mammoth travel schedule or would the home side go back-to-back?
The Match
The Chiefs have come from behind to deny the Brumbies with a 27-22 win in Hamilton.
The home side were down by as many as ten points during the match but a remarkable second half fight back saw them take the title.
The game opened up with real intensity and just like in the Bulls match last week the Brumbies were able to silence the boisterous home crowd early with an early penalty goal to Christian Lealiifano after Nic White was caught high in a tackle..
They were able to add to their score shortly after after Chiefs number eight Matt Vant Leven let the ball bounce and the home side were eventually penalised.
The Chiefs eventually got themselves into the game with big prop Ben Tameifuna involved heavily but the Brumbies defensive work was doing enough to keep the Chiefs at bay.
Chiefs flyhalf Aaron Cruden missed a handy shot at goal but made amends later on to finally get his side on the board.
The Brumbies next score came from a Chiefs obstruction that could have gone either way but Lealiifano took the shot at goal to convert his third penalty of the night.
The home side adjusted their attack to combat the rushing defence of the Brumbies and that worked well as they were getting into the Brumbies half. The one thing that was causing problems was the ruck protection for the Chiefs that lead to untidy ball for the Chiefs backs to use.
The Chiefs were allowed back into the game on the back of penalties given away from the Brumbies and Cruden didn’t need any further invitations to draw the scores level after 30 minutes.
Just before the break, Lealiifano intercepted a pass from Kerr-Barlow and out sprinted the Chiefs defence to score but referee Craig Joubert asked Vinny Munro for a look to see if George Smith was offside in the lead up.
The TMO gave the OK and Lealiifano converted his own try to give the Brumbies a 16-9 lead at half time.
The second half started with the Brumbies improving their scrum and were awarded a penalty that Jesse Mogg attempted from long range but was just wide.
They didn’t have to wait much longer with Lealiifano adding another penalty goal to extend the Brumbies lead to ten.
The Chiefs responded from Cruden with his fourth penalty of the night as they attempted to stay within reach of the Brumbies.
George Smith was creating havoc all over the place and his turnover almost saw the Brumbies score after Lealiifano grubbered though with Rathbone regathering but a last ditch tackle from Cruden saved the Chiefs.
They were denied by the TMO shortly after with the pictures inconclusive but they came away with three more points to restore the lead to ten.
From the restart an uncharacteristic kick from Henry Speight and a missed touch kick from Nic White had the Brumbies on the back foot as the game entered the last quarter.
The Chiefs were held up on one attacking raid but soon scored from Liam Messam to give the sellout crowd a grandstand finish but Cruden’s miss was not what they wanted as his kicking woes continued.
They did finally get to see what they came for with the Chiefs finally levelling the score with a try to replacement Robbie Robinson as he darted through a gap in the Brumbies defence. Cruden’s conversion gave the Chiefs their first lead of the night as the Brumbies looked to tire in the last 15 minutes.
As time wound down, the Brumbies were hoping to recreate last week’s miracle ending and a big run from Fotu Auelua looked like they could but scrambling defence from the Chiefs kept them out.
With time almost up the Brumbies had one last chance with a penalty but Mogg’s failed touch finder cost them any chance of another miracle win and the Chiefs held on for the win.
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The Game Changer
Robbie Robinson’s try and the substitution of Augustine Pulu sparked the Chiefs into action as the Brumbies began to tire.
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The G&GR MOTM
Liam Messam scored one try and his work around the field was exceptional
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Wallaby watch
Christian Lealiifano was cool under pressure on one of his former stomping grounds and his recent Lions experience proved vital with his personal haul of 22 points.
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The Details
Crowd: 25,149
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]CHIEFS: 27
Tries: Messam, Robinson
Conversions: Cruden
Penalties: Cruden 5
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[one_half last=”yes”]BRUMBIES: 22
Tries: Lealiifano
Conversions: Lealiifano
Penalties: Lealiifano 5
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Cards & Citings
Nil
