The Chiefs fired off well with the first serve of points accrued off the successful line-out/maul. Courtesy of Tupou Vaa’I on the second row. ACT Brumbies did bounce back not long later. When Len Ikitau scored the first five points to level the score after 12 minutes. But for the majority the away team struggled to make up these executions.
Especially during the scrum where they did not communicate well that forced the collapse. And it gave The Chiefs the reprieve to get themselves ahead of Half-Time at 19-5. Due credit to Luke Jacobson at No.8. Not only he read well with the Brumbies poor communication going forward. Luke cashed in their errors with two of his own tries in front of the opposing danger zone.
Nothing much changed for the Brumbies unfortunately to make the up lost time earlier on. Even 1/2 late touch scores towards the final hooter was not enough. As The Chiefs were so strong that got themselves comfortably home. Their attacking setup has not changed. Such as the passage of play & close call up via decoy runners that reflected the best of executions. Damian McKenzie continued to play well with the kicking into goal. Plus a TRY for himself not long after the break. And the midfield duo of both Alex Nankivell on the inside role. And Anton Lienert-Brown were key to The Chiefs patient & effective navigation past the Brumbies territory. The final score in Waikato is 40-12.
Chiefs will head to Townsville next Saturday night. Where they will face the best Australian Super Rugby side of Queensland Reds. While ACT Brumbies head to Eden Park in Auckland. And face The Blues on a Saturday evening showdown. For now we complete Week 2 of the 2021 Super Rugby Trans-Tasman. That is the best of both worlds between the Queensland Reds v Crusaders.
