Chiefs storm to Super title win
4 Aug 2012
JON CARDINELLI watched the Chiefs deliver a masterclass in power and composure to crush the Sharks 37-6 in Saturday’s Super Rugby final.
Some will list travel fatigue as decisive. Some will complain that referee Steve Walsh was too lenient on the hosts. Some might say the clamour of cowbells and the driving rain made for a perfect storm of pressure that squeezed the fight out of the Sharks.
But the external factors were never decisive.
The Chiefs rocked up in rampant mood. Their forwards absorbed the early pressure, and their inside backs played outstanding finals football. They ran away with the game in the second half, but the result was secured in the first.
The Sharks needed to bank early points if they were ever going to win this final. Their forwards clattered into the collisions during a bruising first quarter and their line speed on defence kept the Chiefs on the back foot.
But a three-point return during that period was never going to be enough. They coughed up too much possession on attack, and it was a series of missed opportunities early in the piece that they were made to regret.
The Chiefs’ performance in that first half highlighted the tactical nous of the coaching staff, as well as the efficiency of the team’s key decision makers. They played for territory but they also kept the Sharks’ defence guessing with a series of grubbers and chip kicks.
It was a deft nudge by Aaron Cruden that sparked the Chiefs’ first try. Sharks fullback Pat Lambie was caught in two minds, and in the end he made the wrong decision in allowing Cruden’s chip kick to bounce.
The Chiefs, as they have done all season and managed to do on several occasions during this final, chased well and forced the breakdown turnover. From here, the Sharks’ defence was compromised, and centre Sonny Bill Williams took full advantage, breaking two tackles to take play up to the opposition 22.
From there the ball flew out to the left where it was Chiefs backs versus Sharks forwards. Tim Nanai-Williams obliged with a score that spelled trouble for the Sharks, even at that early stage.
For all the talk of fatigue, the Sharks’ intensity at the collisions never seemed to flag. And yet, they struggled to adapt to Walsh’s calls at the breakdown.
Their defensive work was outstanding for the most part, but they made some poor decisions with ball in hand and failed to stretch the Chiefs’ defence.
Their set piece was expected to rattle that of the Chiefs, but the hosts overcame some early lineout wobbles to compete strongly and force several turnovers of their own.
The Sharks also struggled to win set-piece possession in the Chiefs half, and were completely outplayed in the battle for territory. The Chiefs peppered the Sharks in the first half, and the pressure told.
Cruden, who would miss a couple of goal kicks later in the game, was accurate in front of poles during those first 40 minutes. It allowed the Chiefs to build a commanding lead, and before the Sharks knew it, they were 13-3 down.
It was a massive deficit considering the conditions. It was a gap they were never going to close with the Chiefs dominating the collisions and winning the kicking game.
The Sharks suffered a further setback when Kane Thompson crashed over from a five-metre scrum early in the second half. At 20-3, the visitors were dead and buried.
They attempted to play more expansively in an effort to close the gap but, as the final scoreline suggests, this only played into the Chiefs’ hands. The Waikato outfit fed off the Sharks’ errors and scored two more tries.
The performance was emphatic, and the victory well deserved. The Chiefs have played some brilliant rugby at times this season, but they have also shown themselves to be one of the best defensive teams.
The tactical excellence of their halfback pairing hasn’t received enough credit, and Cruden and Tawera Kerr-Barlow certainly played a decisive role in winning this final.
It’s an embarrassing end for the Sharks, who have also produced some encouraging and balanced performances in 2012. In the end, they will lament the early season failures that forced them to travel so extensively in the play-offs.
The Chiefs are the Super Rugby champions for the first time in the competition’s history. They are worthy of the title. They won the New Zealand conference. They won the right to host a semi-final and, thanks to the Stormers’ home defeat, a final.
Their consistency allowed them to do so, and it was also a consistent performance that allowed them to beat the Sharks in the decider.
603 Comments
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4 Aug 2012, 10:01 am
Taken back???!!
4 Aug 2012, 10:01 am
A team cant win with an inconstant idiot at 15…..
4 Aug 2012, 10:02 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther-101: a loose interpretation of the rule.
4 Aug 2012, 10:03 am
super run jordaan
4 Aug 2012, 10:03 am
fantastic run from Jordaan
4 Aug 2012, 10:04 am
Great break Jordaan. Chiefs players lying on the ground and playing that ball while Walsh looks on in admiration.
4 Aug 2012, 10:05 am
Very loose
4 Aug 2012, 10:06 am
Agemfok can’t see a thing – sharks all done by halftime?
4 Aug 2012, 10:06 am
A good break requires good support….some of the Sharks must step up!
4 Aug 2012, 10:06 am
Min 27
The Beeast turned it over ;(
on his 2nd ball carrying
4 Aug 2012, 10:07 am
live streaming anyone?
4 Aug 2012, 10:07 am
@Hondo-110: For the record, the white prop let the try in.
4 Aug 2012, 10:08 am
@Hondo-110: Hey Hondo? As our resident Kiwi expert I have a question. Are the Chiefs CHOKERS like the AB’s? Can we expect a CHOKE?
4 Aug 2012, 10:09 am
More holding back. Surely a card is imminent?
4 Aug 2012, 10:09 am
Ball a slippery as soap but Chiefs obviously spend more time in the shower and handling it expertly
4 Aug 2012, 10:09 am
@>^..^< katman-114: we should probably just be grateful it was penalised
4 Aug 2012, 10:10 am
.vipbox.tv
4 Aug 2012, 10:10 am
Yellow card?
3 rd time warned for obstruction.
4 Aug 2012, 10:10 am
Nice one Jannie.
4 Aug 2012, 10:11 am
wtf wtf sorry hate complaining about reffing but realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly !!!
4 Aug 2012, 10:11 am
no way was that a penalty. Soryy Shorks
4 Aug 2012, 10:11 am
Walsh turning the screw on the Sharks
4 Aug 2012, 10:12 am
Seems pretty clear that old “steve Walsh” hasn’t forgotten his roots, as our “Neutral” ref from NZ….what a load of kuk!
4 Aug 2012, 10:12 am
Cruden on fire!
4 Aug 2012, 10:12 am
c’mon whose first to blame the ref for the loss?
4 Aug 2012, 10:12 am
Even Jonesy is embraboer about that penalty.
Shocker.
4 Aug 2012, 10:13 am
A shove in the chest = penalty?
4 Aug 2012, 10:13 am
Lambie to 10, Viljion to 15, Mvovo out of the park pronto
Or it’s too late
4 Aug 2012, 10:15 am
I said last week the Sharks won’t be able to live with the pace of the game.
4 Aug 2012, 10:15 am
FIX
THIS
GODDAMN
WEBSITE
4 Aug 2012, 10:15 am
@NZINCHINA-125: China…Chiefs are playing very good rugby. Do they really need assistance from the ref? Bad ref’ing is bad ref’ing no matter where in the world or which side of the fence you may sit on.
4 Aug 2012, 10:16 am
Daylight robbery in front of 25 000 people.
And nobody saw a thing.
Least of all the men in grey.
4 Aug 2012, 10:16 am
The Dup brothers are walking penalties.
4 Aug 2012, 10:16 am
@Hondo-128:
Rather try and keep lambie away from the play.. Maybe the bench?
4 Aug 2012, 10:17 am
Iput the Chiefs to win by 16
Sharks are falling apart too fast
4 Aug 2012, 10:17 am
@Boertjie-131:
there isn’t one game played now when a SAFFA is involved and losing where the reffing is not bad
4 Aug 2012, 10:18 am
The Shorks are gawn. A bridge too far! Can Keo please tell me his lotto numbers so I can avoid them
4 Aug 2012, 10:19 am
Hondo just can’t help himself.
4 Aug 2012, 10:19 am
Looks like a hiding is coming. Chiefs have turned it up. Plumtree must get his charges ready for the 2nd half. C’mon Sharks, You CAN DO IT!
4 Aug 2012, 10:20 am
The Sharks Bok team getting peosklapped by All Black c-team.
4 Aug 2012, 10:20 am
Half time Sharks defense is keeping them in the game.
High kicks has Lambie worried in the rain.
(Its been awhile since I posted and kept getting told I am posting too fast )
4 Aug 2012, 10:21 am
Sharks still in it. Come on boys!
4 Aug 2012, 10:21 am
The straem is lagging so bad today though, have hardly been able to enjoy the game
4 Aug 2012, 10:22 am
@TAJ BAR-141: This site is hosted on some budget deal in Rwanda.
4 Aug 2012, 10:22 am
Plumtree needs to make decisions fast: Michalak is disysfonctional, Mvovo is a BIG B/Hole on the left and the Chiefs are milking it
My bet he’ll do nothing
4 Aug 2012, 10:23 am
Hondo it’s the Sharks not the black Sharks or the white Sharks.
4 Aug 2012, 10:23 am
people here are so dramatic… the sharks lost momentum in the middle part of that half with a few unforced errors. if they can come out positive in the 2nd they’re still in with a chance.
4 Aug 2012, 10:23 am
@NZINCHINA-136: That’s a pretty harsh thing to say…You must not like Saffa’s. All sports fans are the same bro. They have a go at the ref, and if are watching the same game I am then you are just trying to upset Saffa’s, which kinda shows your true colours. If you don’t like Saffa’s thats one thing. Bad refereeing is another thing.
4 Aug 2012, 10:24 am
Sharks look stuffed. I guess the travel factor is moerring them.
What a pity that they are the best team in RSA at the moment, too much travel.
If they played at home, it would be a different story
4 Aug 2012, 10:25 am
Katman lol I think this site must be powered by an old steam powered server.
My laptop could do better.
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