Big win: Six-try Chiefs break down the Cheetahs
The Chiefs ran in five second-half tries to see off a determined Cheetahs outfit 45-3 at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday.
The scoreline doesn't do the Cheetahs any justice who really took the game to the defending champions in the first half, and held their hosts to a slender seven-point (10-3) lead at half-time.
It was the visitors who dominated the majority of possession and territory, though they simply failed to turn pressure into points with pivot Johan Goosen missing three kicks at goal in the opening forty minutes.
The Chiefs only had a converted try to skipper Liam Messam and a Gareth Anscombe penalty to show for their efforts before the break.
But in a tale of two halves, the home side then clicked into a higher gear and never looked back as they bagged their second bonus-point victory in as many weeks to go top of the New Zealand conference.
Goosen was not the only Cheetah to be off-song as handling errors and misdirected passes meant they failed to cross the Chiefs line despite frequent charges by Lappies Labuschagne taking them within striking distance.
Ben Afeaki scored the Chiefs second try a minute after half-time when a defensive clearing kick by Goosen was charged down and the Chiefs' prop was on hand to snap up the loose ball and dive over the line.
As momentum began to switch to the Chiefs, the Cheetahs hung on as long as they could until the floodgates opened in the final quarter, allowing Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Anscombe, Rhys Marshall and Ben Tameifuna to cross for tries.
The scorers:
For Chiefs:
Tries: Messam, Afeaki, Tikoirotuma, Anscombe, Marshall, Tameifuna
Cons: Anscombe 6
Pen: Anscombe
For Cheetahs:
Pen: Goosen
Chiefs: 15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam (c), 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Michael Fitzgerald, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Ben Tameifuna, 18 Craig Clarke, 19 Tanerau Latimer, 20 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 21 Charlie Ngatai, 22 Patrick Osborn.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Frans Viljoen, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Landman Ligtoring, 19 Boom Prinsloo, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Riaan Smit, 22 Ryno Benjamin.
Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Comments
Trader2 says...
Heh JayStarr you have forgotton the Oz teams, surely one of them will have a chance, Rebels or Force maybe?
Posted 13:22 04th March 2013
Trinats2 says...
Wally:
if the Cheetahs has as many injuries as the Tahs, they would be out and the lions still in.
Ramage:
Did you bring it with you? Maybe it 's all the tears from from all the kiwis here and the lack of trys from the Kiwi teams !
Posted 12:27 04th March 2013
Ramage says...
No Trinuts I will leave all the excuses to you as we have seen abucetful already from you and its only week 3. I like you dont get carried away by fortunate winds so I will leave the loud and excessive wailing to you. Cheers. By the way does it ever stop raining in Brisbane?
Posted 07:33 04th March 2013
Wallaroo says...
2 completely different teams in each half, bizarre. The Cheetahs are the Saffa Tahs so much potential so much heartbreak.
Posted 00:18 04th March 2013
Ripzy007 says...
@ Ferdie...only team to win all games and the title in Super Rugby was the Crusaders..
Posted 19:33 03rd March 2013
Trinats2 says...
Ramage :
Getting in your excuses in early ! unlike you.
Posted 10:35 03rd March 2013
ferdie says...
Trinats2 - and on and on you go - your 40+ hiding - the actual margin was 15 I think?
Where did the reds end up again, not top as I recall?
Year before your beloved Reds lost 6-30 v Waratahs. What's your point?
Has any team gone unbeaten in pool play and won the Super title?
Reds certainly didn't (3 losses).
Posted 09:16 03rd March 2013
Ramage says...
A good win but there is still much for the chiefs to improve on and as they are off to the republic it will be interesting to see how they deal with not only the South African teams buut taking on boars some of the comments it seems also the South African referees. Hmm seems we still have a problem if that is the case in that the referees still seem to have their own local interpretations. About time this was cleaned up and we got some univeral non hemispherical and non national refereeing. Still with many of the men in the middle being the prima donnas they are, it is unlikely.
Posted 08:55 03rd March 2013
passtheball says...
Nefari - I was joking... but if the attacking player is in control of the ball and it touches the grass on or over the line its a try regardless of any part of the defender's body under or around the ball.
Posted 01:18 03rd March 2013
hellovanite says...
Jaystarr... you're wrong about the Blues, watch this space!
Posted 00:05 03rd March 2013
Trinats2 says...
JayStarr:
I wouldn't write the Cheetahs off just yet. Chiefs took a hiding last year from the Reds (40+) but still managed to get to the final !
Posted 21:27 02nd March 2013
nefari says...
Passtheball - I would only admit it was a legit try if the denfenders hand got completely crushed leaving fingers, and blood all over the tryline. For me, the hand was under the ball, case and point.
Posted 16:05 02nd March 2013
JayStarr says...
@ nefari: I know I said they're a well disciplined team, but I must agree that there was A LOT of borderline stuff at the rucks by the Chiefs, and that a South African ref would've blown them up more regularly. But even though the quicker ball would've helped the Cheetahs, the fact that they were mainly using predictable one-off runners on attack and not offloading as much or as effectively as usual was what really prevented them from scoring.
@ ben7: What evidence is making you say the Chiefs won't win the tournament, but that the Highlanders or Blues might ? Because at the moment the Chiefs are the most complete, most clinical and most dangerous team out there - by far. The Highlanders have already lost to them at home, so now they will have to try and beat them in Hamilton... and the Blues, even though they look fantastic with ball in hand, is still far from a complete side. The Crusaders were uncharacteristically poor yesterday, so don't read TOO much into that victory...
No, the Chiefs are my favourites to win the NZ conference and top the overall log, at such an early stage already, simply because I can't see any of the top sides catching up quick enough - the gap between them is too big at the moment. The Blues and Highlanders are just not as complete, even though they have started well too, and the Crusaders, Stormers, Bulls and Sharks look like they are still stuck in pre-season. And I can't see the Chiefs imploding with Wayne Smith there...
Posted 13:16 02nd March 2013
JayStarr says...
Oh Cheetahs, my beloved 2nd favourite team, you break my heart... As always, SO much potential, but SO many errors !
It's becoming the same old story season after season... I think it's about time the Cheetahs union pull someone new into the coaching staff, a technical analyst, such as John Mitchell or Rassie Erasmus, or even think about replacing Naka Drotske. Because despite their incredible potential, they keep making the same mistakes year after year!
Well done Chiefs - very good defense (despite what some highlights-watching critics had to say last week). You are clearly a VERY well coached and disciplined side... If the Chiefs carry on like this, they will once again top the NZ conference.
The Stormers better show massive improvements tonight if they want to compete against the Chiefs next week, because at the moment they are in different dimensions. The Cheetahs' set-pieces were better than the Chiefs', and they had the advantage in possession and territory for most of the game, but they still lost by a country mile... I think this shows what a complete and dangerous team the Chiefs really are - you can't have ANY weaknesses against them.
Posted 12:46 02nd March 2013
Trinats2 says...
Always difficult first game of the season travelling the time zone, look at Force last week and now Cheetahs this week, two upsets. As soon as snooze time kicked in the Cheats ran in 3 tries.
Posted 10:32 02nd March 2013
ben7 says...
Cheetahs dominated 1st half and were easily the better team, despite not scoring a try. 2nd half, however, the Chiefs were superb and ran riot.
Still don't think they will be overall winners this year though. That will go to either the Blues, Highlanders (who will improve), Sharks or Stormers (who will also improve) although you cant bet against the Crusaders or Bulls.
Posted 10:22 02nd March 2013
passtheball says...
nefari - he might of had a hand under the ball but the weight of 140kg Ben "Pies" would mean the Cheetahs hand was squashed into the ground!
Posted 10:12 02nd March 2013
nefari says...
And because it upset my points difference in superbru, I'm seriously peed about that last chiefs try, surely the cheetah player had his hands under the ball?
Posted 09:19 02nd March 2013
nefari says...
Great games from the chiefs their balance between attack and defence is something to behold... But its ridiculous how they have free reign in the rucks, in a south african derbry with a south african ref there would atleast have been a yellow card somewhere.
Posted 09:15 02nd March 2013
swells07 says...
Go chiefs!!
Posted 08:42 02nd March 2013