Damian McKenzie continues to shine this time by leading the Chiefs backline at No.15. His kicking game is excellent as always; he also possesses a lot of all-rounder attributes where he was tested so well while backing them up both in attack & defense. Gotta say that the forwards communicated with him well by giving them a helping hand in return. That way, the Chiefs know where to stop the Brumbies in their tracks, as well as being able to fire up the pressure back at the Brumbies going forward. It’s something how the Chiefs have scored time & time again for the majority before he gets to add these extra conversion points, which is always a nice bonus to have even when looking to kick from these difficult angles.
Next up is Chiefs No.8 Luke Jacobson who also did well right from the beginning. He has such a towering frame and ever mighty physical power to shift things around, especially when not only he’s such a brilliant attacking force but he can also defend as well. You can’t go wrong when he helped his side open the scoring account by himself early as seen when he blew everyone away with his pace & power, while he continues to do the hard yards that helped the Chiefs stay ahead of the Brumbies when it comes to the lead. He is sure enjoying his best rugby right now at 26, having seen the Chiefs just taken home the regular season title as all eyes is on dominating the Finals real soon.
And Len Ikitau has been excellent on the Brumbies midfield at No.12. He was a huge attacking contributor thanks to the winning penalties/advantages being given on occasions. It gave his side some time to get around the Chiefs blocks before the close communication & the executions are there to reflect his input, having scored one TRY & one TRY assist against the runaway leaders. He will no doubt be a huge contributor towards the Brumbies upcoming Finals bid soon. Yes, they may have scored two late tries. But it’s the attacking inconsistency that saw his side struggle to break up a robust Chiefs defensive line mightily with the loss.
