The big news before this Super Rugby Pacific contest in Christchurch on Saturday night was that four Crusaders, including captain and lock Scott Barrett, had been withdrawn on “medical grounds.”
Reserve forwards Mitch Dunshea, Brodie McAlister and Tamaiti Williams were the others to be sidelined, forcing coach Scott Robertson to make multiple changes, but that couldn’t be used as an excuse after the Chiefs beat the Crusaders 24-21.
Not that the Chiefs had an easy build-up, either, having had seven players identified during the week as “close contacts” of a person infected with COVID-19, and therefore not selected for the fixture at Orangetheory Stadium.
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Among those not required for the shift were Brad Weber, Josh Lord, Josh Ioane and Atu Moli.
This was the Chiefs first win over the Crusaders since 2016, with late tries to Shaun Stevenson and Rameka Poihipi – the last in the final seconds – getting the visitors a memorable victory.
The Chiefs just kept plugging away in the final quarter, despite the Crusaders tackling themselves to a standstill. Eventually, though, the red and black wall cracked.
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You should have seen the way the Chiefs bench erupted when Poihipi scored.
That said everything, in terms of how big it was for the men from up north.
The big moment.
Poihipi’s try. It just has to be.
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Witnessing any team, regardless of the colours they wear, score a try after soaking-up the pressure is always key.
The Chiefs were bold and brave enough to keep attacking in the final 15 minutes – they just believed in their attack.
And as the Crusaders kept coughing up the penalties, the Chiefs kept wanting to make them pay.
They did that, too. Big ups to them for wanting to play and not be intimidated by the Crusaders reputation for snuffing teams out at the death.
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Match rating
8/10.
This was a major improvement on what we saw when the Blues hosted the Highlanders in Auckland on Friday night.
Anyone who wants to support SRP, in the belief it is a blue riband competition, would surely agree with that statement.
The skill-level was of a high standard, and as you would expect from an encounter from these old foes they went at each other with a mixture of aggression, fury and a burning desire to break the line.
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At times, you had to wonder how the Crusaders stayed on their feet as they were forced to keep defending in the final 10 minutes.
Yet, eventually the dam broke, as Shaun Stevenson crossed over in the left-hand corner for his second try of the night with just four minutes left.
Bryn Gatland’s sideline conversion set up a grandstand finish as the Chiefs trailed 21-17.
And then came the try to Poihipi. For the record, Gatland also blasted over the conversion – the icing on the cake.
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The big picture
The Crusaders suffered their first loss of the year.
After the lacklustre effort against Moana Pasifika last weekend, when the Crusaders only secured a bonus-point win in the dying moments, there was talk of the rugby monster from the upper South Island having lost some of its edge.
This performance, admittedly with a team that was bolstered by the return of a group of All Blacks, was much better than that effort but you can’t help get the feeling the Crusaders have more to offer.
First, though, it pays to scrutinise their defence, especially in the final quarter where they were forced to repulse relentless waves of the Chiefs attack.
It was impressive. And don’t forget the try-saving tackle by David Havili on Pita Gus Sowakula in the 54th minute. It was so gutsy, you had to wonder how Havili survived the contact.
Yet the Chiefs were better. They played with heart, desire and a willingness to attack. The SRP delivered on this occasion.
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MVP
Throw a dart at those forwards, from both teams, and start narrowing it down from there.
Chiefs No 8 Pita Gus Sowakula. He gets the gong just ahead of the bloke Ethan Blackadder from the Crusaders.
Sowakula’s thirst for work, on both sides of the ball, was memorable.
Chiefs 24 (Shaun Stevenson 2, Rameka Poihipi tries; Bryn Gatland 3 con, pen) Crusaders 21 (David Havili, Braydon Ennor tries; Richie Mo’unga con, 3 pen), HT: 10-14.
– This article originally appeared on stuff.co.nz and is reproduced with permission