Chiefs v Blues: Five takeaways as ‘brilliant’ Beauden Barrett helps champions clinch nail-biting win
Blues playmaker Beauden Barrett and Chiefs counterpart Damian McKenzie.
Following the Blues’ 20-19 triumph over the Chiefs in their Super Rugby Pacific play-off clash at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.
The top line
As expected, this was a tightly fought contest between the two teams who competed in last year’s final with the Blues eventually coming out on top in a thrilling encounter.
The first 40 minutes was tense with neither side giving an inch and, after Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett traded early penalties, the rest of the half was an arm wrestle. We had to wait more than 25 minutes for the next points to be scored – another McKenzie penalty in the 32nd minute – and he also succeeded with a three-pointer off the kicking tee five minutes later which gave his side a 9-3 lead at half-time.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first with Barrett and McKenzie trading penalties but the match came alive on the hour-mark when McKenzie found Daniel Rona with a well-timed pass deep inside Blues territory and the outside centre crossed for the opening try.
McKenzie added the extras, giving the home side a 19-6 lead, which meant the Blues would have to up the ante on attack if they wanted to secure a victory.
They did just that as they hit back courtesy of a Kurt Eklund try from close quarters five minutes later before replacement second-row Josh Beehre barged over after the Blues were camped inside the Chiefs‘ 22 for a long period in the game’s dying moments.
Barrett stepped up and added the extras which meant the Blues booked their spot in the semi-finals alongside the Chiefs, who advance to the last four as the top seeded team in the play-offs.
Beauden Barrett wins the battle of the All Blacks 10s
The Chiefs’ Damian McKenzie and Blues’ Beauden Barrett were the only players who featured at fly-half for New Zealand at Test level in 2024 and their direct duel in this match was viewed as an early audition for the All Blacks’ number 10 jersey for next month’s series against France.
In the end, Barrett’s class shone through with his brilliant game management and attacking ability helping the defending champions to clinch a morale-boosting victory.
From the outset both McKenzie and Barrett were influential on proceedings with both playmakers giving their respective teams direction on attack and catching the eye with impressive game management.
Barrett was particularly superb with his tactical kicking as he found his wings with accurate crossfield kicks while the precision of his short kicking game provided the Chiefs with plenty of headaches.
The best example of that came just before half-time when the 34-year-old kicked ahead and found space behind the Chiefs’ defensive line before booting the ball ahead, but he failed to regather deep inside the opponents’ territory when diving onto the ball with the hope of sailing over the try-line.
Despite that setback, Barrett continued to ask questions of the home side’s defence. His brilliance on attack kept the Blues on the front foot in the game’s closing stages and it was fitting that he slotted the match-winning conversion of Beehre’s late try.
Damian McKenzie’s missed penalty proves costly
As expected the battle between Barrett and McKenzie was one of the highlights of this match and while Barrett took the spoils in their direct duel, McKenzie’s performance was also of a high standard.
He kept his side in the game with his brilliant playmaking skills while his goal-kicking was excellent for most of the match and he finished with a 14-point haul after succeeding with four penalties and a conversion.
However, he had an opportunity to clinch a victory for his side in the 75th minute when he lined up a shot at goal from about 35 metres out after the Chiefs won a breakdown penalty.
The kick seemed to be on target but drifted away close to the uprights. The Chiefs were leading 19-13 at the time but the Blues would not surrender and sealed the result when Beehre dotted down in the game’s dying moments.
Blues late show does the trick
The men from Auckland showed why they are Super Rugby Pacific‘s defending champions as they refused to surrender despite the Chiefs seemingly taking control of proceedings midway through the second stanza.
With the score 19-6 to the Chiefs by the 60th minute, the Blues’ reign as champions looked to be coming to an end but, to their credit, they did not panic and gained the upper hand during the game’s final quarter which they won 14-0.
The Auckland-based outfit were soon inside the Chiefs’ 22 and went onto the attack from a five-metre lineout before Eklund crossed the whitewash under a mass of bodies for his five-pointer which was converted by Barrett.
With their season on the line, they continued to attack and spent the last five minutes camped in the Chiefs’ 22. The Blues thought they had scored their second try when Hoskins Sotutu went over from close quarters after the full-time hooter had gone, but referee Angus Gardner disallowed his effort for crawling after checking television replays.
The Blues still had advantage as the Chiefs were offside on defence and the visitors launched one further attack which resulted in Beehre’s try, despite the attentions of three defenders, and Barrett’s conversion clinched their spot in the semi-finals.
A game of missed opportunities
This match was a typical play-off encounter with try-scoring opportunities few and far between but when they did come both these teams were guilty of botching it.
In the 27th minute, Daniel Rona – who was superb throughout – gathered a high ball just inside his half and launched a counter attack which took him to deep inside Blues territory. He was confronted by the cover defence and kicked ahead with Cortez Ratima giving chase.
With no defenders close to him, all the All Blacks scrum-half had to do was pick up the ball but he knocked on with the try-line at his mercy.
Just before half-time it was a similar story for Barrett when he did brilliantly to kick and chase but he failed to regather in front of the home side’s try-line.
And in the 64th minute it happened again for the Blues when Barrett found Caleb Clarke with a wonderful offload, but the All Blacks speedster had the ball knocked from his grasp by Samipeni Finau while he was crossing the whitewash.
