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, 10:45 am
Rugby is not for sissies.
4 Aug 2012, 10:46 am
Sharks still have time. Chiefs cannot put foot of pedal or one little sniff for Sharks i am sure they will take it.
4 Aug 2012, 10:46 am
@stormerforlife1-201:
lol
4 Aug 2012, 10:46 am
Good All Black rugby play, when are weak in line outs, cheat and tackle the player in the air, or throw in skew
When you struggle at the rucks, just hold onto another player
When the ref warns ou four times, notto worry as he will warn you another 8 times
When you tackle, just tackle high
4 Aug 2012, 10:47 am
Sharks getting moered pimpel en pers.
4 Aug 2012, 10:47 am
@198,
you are wrong. Sharks are best in RSA in 2012.
Head to head versus Stormers in 2012 is
Sharks 2/3
Stormers 1/3
4 Aug 2012, 10:47 am
@RL-196: ok then ars*hole then, Lambie having a shocker and yes of course i expected a win no matter how exhausted they are.
4 Aug 2012, 10:48 am
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4 Aug 2012, 10:48 am
@Hurricane-199:
don’t hang around for too long after the game the moaning/whinging will be unbearable
4 Aug 2012, 10:48 am
Kanko is so much more tougher and a better player than Spiers.
4 Aug 2012, 10:48 am
Will the Chiefs win by a 30 point margin or a 40 point one?
4 Aug 2012, 10:50 am
michalak having a mare.
4 Aug 2012, 10:50 am
This sucks.
4 Aug 2012, 10:50 am
@JL1-204:
Good South African bloggers.
When the Opposition is winning find excuses and not blame any South African team.
When you find you are looking foolish about trying to find reasons for the loss,
attcak anyone who is not a South African on this blog.
When you are JL1, cry like a baby and watch mens netball cos rugby to tough for you.
4 Aug 2012, 10:50 am
@Hurricane-199: If you see that we agree that the Chiefs are playing better and that the ref isn’t having a good game then WTF are saying? Hurricane …how dumb are you Bro?
4 Aug 2012, 10:51 am
TRy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 Aug 2012, 10:51 am
F uck
4 Aug 2012, 10:51 am
@>^..^< katman-208:
yep, so annoying.
I just copy all my posts and paste them when that happens
4 Aug 2012, 10:52 am
@Hurricane-214: Hurricane, who actually said I am talking about the Chiefs?
Your bleating on innocence says it all, now crawl back under your cheating rock
4 Aug 2012, 10:52 am
oh dear
4 Aug 2012, 10:52 am
Bambiltios
4 Aug 2012, 10:52 am
@208.>^..^< katman
Say again
4 Aug 2012, 10:53 am
Sharks have done it again.
4 Aug 2012, 10:53 am
downloading data from adserver …….at the bottom of my screen all the time, wonder if that is what is make the site all wonky, never used to do that.
4 Aug 2012, 10:53 am
How can one “post comments too quickly” when electricity moves at the speed of light and one types with two fingers? Does this website run off power supplied by a bloke on an exercise bike driving a tiny dynamo?
4 Aug 2012, 10:53 am
KAK KAK KAK
what was point of sharks beating stormers, so they could be zombies in the final. wish I had bet more on the chiefs to win by 13+. I did not trust my gut enough.
its been a good tournament, but what an aweful final.
4 Aug 2012, 10:54 am
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4 Aug 2012, 10:54 am
JP off?? game. over.
4 Aug 2012, 10:55 am
@Treehugger-224: Too many people on the site, and its causing the server to overload and slow. Annoying!!!
4 Aug 2012, 10:55 am
Chiefs deliberately kicking onto Lambie?
4 Aug 2012, 10:55 am
Now if that was Butch James……
But hey it is Sonny Cheat
4 Aug 2012, 10:55 am
Add Soup rugby and the 3 Nations to the Kiwi coaching resume.
4 Aug 2012, 10:56 am
What’s wrong with that tackle?
4 Aug 2012, 10:56 am
@JL1-231:
have you bought your lemons
4 Aug 2012, 10:56 am
@JL1-219:
Greeting, Son of Frikke.
I see you are your happy self.
4 Aug 2012, 10:56 am
Over to the SBW haters lol
4 Aug 2012, 10:57 am
Keo, your site is useless. I only post on one South African blog is this is to say the least pathetic. Its been over a week it been doping this. Makes you wonder if theres been a brain drain and no one can fix a website there. How about ask some Kiwis to help you.
4 Aug 2012, 10:57 am
Sharks spilling way too much ball to have any chance here. They’re desperate so they’re trying miracle stuff, and it’s all going wrong. Too bad.
And that’s just par for the course from SBW. That’s his tackling style.
4 Aug 2012, 10:57 am
Lambie a Chief’s handbag
4 Aug 2012, 10:58 am
Sorry my Sharkies but think this is the end of the line for us, Chiefs much better on the day>
BUT screw Walsh the insipid weak pathetic weasel,shocking reffing from him and that is a fact, and before you kiwis pop a vein your team deserves the win. Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 Aug 2012, 10:58 am
All Lambie is doing – is making Kirchener look good!
Chiefs too good tonight! Well played. You are deserved champions.
Sharkies – sorry, but this was one bridge too far. Rest up on the plane home, and enjoy the fact that in the last 3 weeks, you have earned enough airmiles to go anywhere in the world on holdiday!-)
4 Aug 2012, 10:59 am
Ludicrous Ludick having a kak game as well.When he got lucky last week Shark supporters proclaimed him as the best thing since slice bread.
4 Aug 2012, 10:59 am
Hard luck Sharks. If only you had a week to rest prior to this game.
Still a good Superugby campaign for SA overall. Lot’s of players shining in their debut seasons at this level – Coetzee , Jordaan , Etzebeth etc etc.
4 Aug 2012, 10:59 am
Commentator: “Notice how everyone is now mate with Steve Walsh?”
Steve’s probably looking for a drinking partner.
4 Aug 2012, 10:59 am
@cane-235: Just happy thatI don’t live in your redneck, inbred community
4 Aug 2012, 11:00 am
@JL1-219:
Well seen as you said good all black rugby and the All Blacks are not playing, i can sort of work it out. Thought you were stupid and that post just confirms it
4 Aug 2012, 11:00 am
Guppie moffies
4 Aug 2012, 11:01 am
Chiefs bring three All Blacks. Wow what a bench!
4 Aug 2012, 11:01 am
@Boertjie-229: Please email keo and tell him.
4 Aug 2012, 11:01 am
Crudenes got Lambie in his little pocket.Oh yes ,he can fit in there.
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