Chiefs player ratings: Wallace Sititi ‘outstanding’ and fellow All Blacks star a ‘mammoth presence’ but Damian McKenzie needs to be ‘so much better’
Wallace Sititi and Damian McKenzie in action for the Chiefs.
Following a 31-21 victory over the Reds in the Super Rugby Pacific clash at Suncorp Stadium on Friday, here are the player ratings for the Chiefs.
15 Isaac Hutchinson: Has endured his injury troubles, missing last season with an ACL injury, but showed glimpses of why he is highly rated. A big boot with good strength and footwork who made metres and ultimately looked a threat in attack. 7
14 Kyren Taumoefolau: Hasn’t quite recaptured his Moana Pasifika form since moving to the Chiefs and, like Hutchinson, there were only really glimpses. Made one surge down the left but kicked it rather than backed himself and the Reds covered back well. 5
13 Kyle Brown: Another young player looking to make his mark and there were plenty of good moments from Brown. Nice feet with power in contact as the centre was regularly involved, but he wasn’t massively influential. 6
12 Quinn Tupaea: The form player in this Chiefs backline and he showed it for 50 minutes, on both sides of the ball. Some good carries in contact and made a big turnover at the start of the second period to relieve the pressure, but faded after that. 7
11 Liam Coombes-Fabling: Regularly searched for work and looked the part for most of the game, even if the Reds defence stopped him from making too many metres in dangerous areas. 6
Subpar display
10 Damian McKenzie: A mixed bag from McKenzie, whose flashes of brilliance were quite often followed by some basic errors. Had one big moment with an outstanding tackle on Carter Gordon but was then weak for Treyvon Pritchard’s score. Needs to be so much better than this if he wants that All Blacks 10 jersey. 5
9 Xavier Roe: Similar to his half-back partner, Roe was fantastic at times but then almost cost his side. Broke the game open with a superb run before making two stupid kicks and then having another charged down that put his side under pressure in their own 22. Thankfully for him, Tupou Vaa’i was on hand to bail him out. 6
8 Wallace Sititi: The Chiefs’ top tackler and their primary carrier which tells the story. Scored an early try following a fantastic fend and continued in that manner throughout the game with some superb work on both sides of the ball. Was apt that the outstanding Sititi ended the game as a contest by completing his brace late on. 9
7 Luke Jacobson (c): Quieter than his back-row colleagues. Did the fundamentals well enough but the stardust came from other members of the back five. 6
6 Simon Parker: Plenty of ballast at close quarters but Dave Rennie will want slightly more from his back-rower looking ahead to the Nations Championship. Parker was solid but he wasn’t dominant. 6
Big shifts in the front five
5 Tupou Vaa’i: After a relatively quiet start, Vaa’i grew into the game and became a mammoth presence in the engine room. Some big carries and vital turnovers which played a key part in the victory. Lineout wasn’t great at times but neither was the Reds’ as the Chiefs also managed to put pressure on the set-piece with the All Blacks lock to the fore. 8
4 Josh Lord: Fantastic for 35 minutes before he was forced off. Lord was truly outstanding during his time on the field with some huge carries and good work on lineout defence. 8
3 George Dyer: Some good work in the scrum and the loose as the Chiefs set-piece managed to get on the front foot in the second period. 7
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2 Tyrone Thompson: Struggled in the set-piece and was duly hooked early in the second period. Not Thompson’s finest night as they failed to set a platform in the lineout. 4
1 Ollie Norris: Fantastic around the field and almost as good in the scrum. There were some big carries from Norris while he made plenty of tackles and got a big turnover when his team were under pressure in the 22. 8
Replacements: Samisoni Taukei’aho showed his class off the bench, shoring up the lineout and scoring two tries off the back of the maul, while Fiti Sa also played a part in the set-piece when he came on for Lord. The replacement props were also excellent. Elsewhere, they were solid with Cortez Ratima bringing composure and Josh Jacomb making some good decision from full-back. 8
READ MORE: Reds v Chiefs: Result, match stats, line-ups, scorers