In a match that perfectly epitomised the old sporting cliché of a “game of two halves,” the Chiefs survived an extraordinary second-half fightback from Moana Pasifika to claim a 50-35 victory at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe on Friday night.
Key moments
- 2′ – Damian McKenzie penalty (3-0)
- 9′ – Bradley Slater try, Damian McKenzie conversion (10-0)
- 14′ – Shaun Stevenson try, Damian McKenzie conversion (17-0)
- 21′ – Xavier Roe try, Damian McKenzie conversion (24-0)
- 29′ – Tom Savage yellow card (Moana Pasifika)
- 30′ – Leroy Carter try, Damian McKenzie conversion missed (29-0)
- 33′ – William Havili try, Patrick Pellegrini conversion (29-7)
- 37′ – Manaaki Selby-Rickit try, Damian McKenzie conversion (36-7)
- 40′ – Damian McKenzie try, Damian McKenzie conversion (43-7)
- 43′ – Abraham Pole try, Patrick Pellegrini conversion (43-14)
- 58′ – Sama Malolo try, Patrick Pellegrini conversion (43-21)
- 70′ – Tuna Tuitama try, Patrick Pellegrini conversion (43-28)
- 75′ – William Havili try, Patrick Pellegrini conversion (43-35)
- 79′ – Samisoni Taukei’aho try, Damian McKenzie conversion (50-35)
What began as a potential record-breaking rout transformed into a nail-biting contest as Moana Pasifika, trailing by 36 points at the interval, mounted a stirring comeback that left the table-topping Chiefs clinging on before Samisoni Taukei’aho’s 79th-minute try finally secured the win.
The Chiefs, featuring a freshened front row and the livewire Damian McKenzie pulling the strings at fly-half, looked unstoppable in the opening 40 minutes as they showcased their championship credentials with a devastating attacking display that yielded six tries and a seemingly unassailable 43-7 half-time lead.
But Tana Umaga’s side, already buoyed by their pre-bye victory over the Hurricanes, demonstrated remarkable resilience to outscore the visitors 28-7 after the break, giving the South Auckland crowd an unexpected thriller on what was meant to be a Moana Pasifika home fixture in Tonga before floodlight installation delays forced its relocation to Chiefs territory.
From the outset, Clayton McMillan’s men asserted their dominance at the set-piece, winning penalties from the first three scrums and establishing the platform for their backline to flourish. The Chiefs were handed an early penalty when Moana spilled the kickoff and were found offside, allowing McKenzie to slot the opening points just two minutes into the contest.
The floodgates opened in the ninth minute when a wayward Patrick Pellegrini clearance was countered brilliantly by McKenzie, who found Shaun Stevenson cutting through the defensive line before linking with Leroy Carter, whose final pass put Bradley Slater over for the opening try.
Stevenson, in just his third game back from Japan, added his own name to the scoresheet five minutes later, gliding through a gap on first-phase attack from a lineout. The Chiefs’ outside centre made it look effortless, straightening his line perfectly to score beneath the posts.
The Chiefs’ forwards continued to dominate, and after another penalty at scrum-time, Xavier Roe sniped over from close range in the 21st minute following strong carries from Gideon Wrampling, who was making his first Super Rugby start in his seventh appearance since debuting in 2021.
Moana’s woes deepened when captain Tom Savage was shown a yellow card in the 29th minute after repeated infringements at the lineout, with the referee warning of too many consecutive penalties before brandishing the card. Carter immediately punished the numerical disadvantage with the Chiefs’ fourth try, finishing in the corner after Roe delivered a cutting pass that beat the cover defence.
The hosts finally responded through William Havili after an enterprising break from Pepesana Patafilo, who ran the restart back and broke the line. Pellegrini’s conversion made it 29-7, but any thoughts of a comeback were swiftly extinguished as the Chiefs added two more tries before the break.
First, Selby-Rickit—a late replacement for the scratched Tupou Vaa’i—showcased surprising pace on a swerving 20-metre run to the tryline, benefiting from an excellent offload from his locking partner Naitoa Ah Kuoi with a slick change of direction taking him around Havili to score.
As the half-time siren sounded, McKenzie capped a masterful 40 minutes with a try of his own. A Moana knock-on was scooped up by the Chiefs’ playmaker, who found a gap and accelerated away to score his side’s sixth try, converting himself to establish that commanding 43-7 lead.
Whatever was said in the Moana changing room at half-time had an immediate effect, with Umaga clearly delivering a rousing speech that transformed his team’s approach.
Abraham Pole crashed over within three minutes of the restart after Malolo overthrew at a lineout but the ball bounced kindly for Jonathan Taumateine. The scrum-half set up Lalomilo Lalomilo, who spun over the 5m line before Pellegrini slipped it to Pole, who spun over under the posts.
Suddenly, it was the Chiefs who found themselves under sustained pressure, conceding penalties and struggling to cope with Moana’s direct approach. The visitors were forced into a defensive stance, with the tackle count ballooning to 164 compared to Moana’s 76 by the end of the match.
Sama Malolo, impactful off the bench, added a third try for Moana in the 58th minute. The Manu Samoa hooker displayed impressive patience around the ruck, picking his gap perfectly with Faiilagi providing a deft assist as the replacement hooker barged over the line.
Miracle Faiilagi was particularly influential in the second half, consistently breaking the gain line with powerful carries. Along with Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, they provided the go-forward that had been sorely lacking before the interval.
The Chiefs appeared shell-shocked by Moana’s transformation, unable to stem the tide or establish any meaningful possession. Replacement Tuna Tuitama, making his Super Rugby debut, collected Pellegrini’s pinpoint cross-kick to touch down in the corner in the 70th minute, with Pellegrini’s conversion narrowing the gap to 43-28.
The crowd were brought to their feet in the 75th minute when Havili intercepted a Chiefs pass and sprinted 75 metres to score. With Pellegrini’s conversion bringing Moana to within just eight points at 43-35, the remarkable prospect of the most unlikely comeback in Super Rugby Pacific history loomed large.
But it wasn’t to be. Havili, from hero to villain in the space of minutes, carried the ball back into his 22 and kicked directly into touch, gifting the Chiefs field position. From the resulting lineout, Taukei’aho peeled off a driving maul to score and finally extinguish Moana’s hopes.
The Chiefs’ recourse to their reliable driving maul highlighted just how dominant Moana had been in the second half, with the visitors struggling to make inroads through open play. Taukei’aho’s try saved the game for the Chiefs, with McKenzie’s conversion bringing up the half-century.
In truth, they were fortunate to escape with the victory after such a dramatic second-half collapse. While they lost the potential bonus point, the Chiefs maintained their position atop the Super Rugby Pacific table with a 5-1 record heading into their bye week.
“The Chiefs will head into their bye week pretty frustrated you’d think,” admitted McMillan post-match. “As the team to beat, that second half was absolutely putrid. Sure, it was a stunning first half, and that absolutely played a part in the drop-off, but they went weak up the middle, and lacked any intensity in the backline.”
For Moana, there was pride in the fightback but regret over their first-half performance. “We can be pleased with that comeback, but we’ll be gutted with that first half,” reflected Umaga. “They were incredibly ill-disciplined, were butchered at set piece, their kicking was inaccurate, there was not a single positive.”
Despite the defeat, there were plenty of positives in the second-half performance, with Umaga highlighting several standout performers: “Sama Malolo was particularly impactful, carrying over the advantage line every time he took the ball up. Tupou Ta’eiloa and Fai’ilagi were not far behind in the second half, showing plenty of muscle in the carry.”
The statistics tell the story of a remarkably lopsided contest. The Chiefs dominated territory and possession in the first half, with Moana’s penalty count reaching double figures before the break. By the end, Moana had conceded 12 penalties to the Chiefs’ nine, but it was the tackling numbers that revealed the second-half shift—the Chiefs forced to make 164 tackles to Moana’s 76, with both teams missing 21 each.
Moana Pasifika (1-4) now travel to face the Crusaders in Christchurch next week in what will be another stern test of their development, while the Chiefs will enjoy a bye week before hosting the Reds in Hamilton in round eight.
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