The Chiefs moved to the top of the Super Rugby Pacific standings with a hard-fought 31–21 victory over the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium, with Wallace Sititi and Samisoni Taukei’aho both scoring doubles in a bruising encounter that was decided in the final minutes.
Key moments
8 mins – TRY REDS: Hunter Paisami’s pop pass puts Harry McLaughlin-Phillips through a hole, and the flyhalf offloads out of contact to send Lachie Anderson into the corner. McLaughlin-Phillips converts from the right sideline. (Reds 7–0 Chiefs)
11 mins – TRY CHIEFS: The Chiefs stay patient after the Reds botch their restart near the 22. Josh Lord pops up short side and gallops through a hole, and quick ball sees Xavier Roe go back to the short side where Wallace Sititi crashes over. Damian McKenzie converts from wide. (Reds 7–7 Chiefs)
16 mins – MISSED PENALTY CHIEFS: Damian McKenzie pushes a 40-metre penalty well right of the posts after the Reds are penalised for offside. (Reds 7–7 Chiefs)
24 mins – MAUL TURNOVER: The Chiefs hammer away inside the Reds’ five after a lineout drive, but Fraser McReight and Seru Uru force the maul turnover to keep them out.
34 mins – TMO DENIES CHIEFS: Isaac Hutchinson slides over and is awarded the try, but the TMO spots a couple of bobbles in the lead-up and the try is disallowed. Back to the penalty. (Reds 7–7 Chiefs)
36 mins – PENALTY CHIEFS: Damian McKenzie slots the resulting penalty from in front. (Reds 7–10 Chiefs)
37 mins – BLOWN CHANCE: Kyle Brown drops the restart and Harry Wilson grabs it, but instead of backing himself for the line he throws a pass that is broken up. The Reds get the scrum feed 15 metres out but Zane Nonggorr pushes an unnecessary offload and it goes loose.
40+3 mins – HELD UP: Seru Uru appears to get over the line from close range after the Reds hammer away following a penalty, but the officials rule he is held up. The TMO confirms the on-field decision stands after viewing just one angle, with a subsequent replay appearing to show Uru had grounded the ball.
Half-time: Reds 7–10 Chiefs. A brutal, physical first half with the Chiefs leading by a McKenzie penalty. Both sides have had chances without nailing them, and the Reds’ lineout struggles have hampered their attacking platform.
51 mins – TRY CHIEFS: The Chiefs’ rolling maul proves unstoppable as Samisoni Taukei’aho steers it over from the back after multiple penalties draw the Reds offside near the line. McKenzie converts. (Reds 7–17 Chiefs)
53 mins – CLOSE CALL: Carter Gordon makes a brilliant break on his first touch, getting the Reds inside the Chiefs’ 22, but they are penalised five metres from the line for holding on.
58 mins – CHARGE DOWN: Louis Werchon’s high kick into the 22 is tipped down by the Chiefs, but Seru Uru charges down Xavier Roe’s clearance and regathers five metres out. However, Tupou Vaa’i jackals and wins the holding on penalty.
66 mins – TRY REDS: Brilliance from Harry Wilson. Josh Flook pokes through in midfield, then Carter Gordon lofts a cut-out pass to Wilson on the right wing. He charges into the 22 before flicking a no-look offload out the back to send Joe Brial diving into the corner. Werchon converts from wide. (Reds 14–17 Chiefs)
69 mins – YELLOW CARD REDS: Jeffery Toomaga-Allen is sent to the sin bin for a cynical foul at the breakdown, slapping the ball from the scrumhalf’s hands. (Reds down to 14)
70 mins – TRY CHIEFS: The Chiefs’ lineout drive is again unstoppable and Taukei’aho claims his second, steering the maul over from the back. McKenzie converts. (Reds 14–24 Chiefs)
74 mins – TRY REDS: Carter Gordon spots space wide on the left and whips a pass to debutant Treyvon Pritchard on the wing. He still has McKenzie to beat, but skips past the veteran on the outside to score his maiden Super Rugby Pacific try. Werchon converts from wide. (Reds 21–24 Chiefs)
79 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Sititi seals it with his second. The Chiefs win a penalty after Carter Gordon is caught inside his 22, opt for the scrum, and Sititi takes off the back. Louis Werchon barely lays a finger on him as he streaks away to dot down under the posts. McKenzie converts. (Reds 21–31 Chiefs)
Full-time: Reds 21–31 Chiefs
Match report
This was a match that rarely produced pretty rugby, but the Chiefs will not care one bit. In a gritty, physical encounter defined by untidy breakdowns, handling errors and sloppy lineouts, the visitors did just enough to grind out a result that sent them to the summit of the standings alongside the Hurricanes on 40 points, ahead on the first tiebreaker of wins with a 9–2 record and three regular-season matches remaining.
For the Reds, it was a night of frustration. The final penalty count read 12–5 against the Queenslanders, and there were contentious moments that left Les Kiss’s side feeling aggrieved — none more so than a held-up try ruling on Seru Uru just before half-time that appeared to be made after viewing just one unclear angle, with a subsequent replay showing the lock may well have grounded the ball. Reds players pointed at the big screen in an attempt to get the TMO to take another look, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
The Reds started with intent, and winger Lachie Anderson — playing his comeback match from a dislocated wrist — struck early. Hunter Paisami’s pop pass released McLaughlin-Phillips through a hole, and the flyhalf rode the tackle before offloading to send Anderson over in the corner. McLaughlin-Phillips converted from the sideline for a 7–0 lead inside eight minutes.
The advantage lasted barely three minutes. Queensland’s failure to deal with the restart handed the Chiefs possession near the 22, and Josh Lord’s sharp break on the short side left the Reds scrambling and short of numbers. Quick ball allowed Roe to feed the short side, and Sititi crashed over for the first of his two tries. McKenzie levelled from the tee, and the contest settled into an arm wrestle.
The Reds’ lineout woes — a problem that had plagued them the previous week against the Brumbies — continued to undermine their attacking platform. They had lost three lineouts by the 29th minute, with Wallabies captain Harry Wilson yelling in frustration at his teammates. The Chiefs, by contrast, were controlled and patient. Lord was excellent in the tight exchanges, while loosehead Ollie Norris and tighthead George Dyer provided the grunt that allowed their loose forward trio of Luke Jacobson, Simon Parker and Sititi to dominate the collisions.
The Chiefs thought they had scored when fullback Isaac Hutchinson slid over in the 34th minute, but the TMO found multiple knock-ons in the build-up. The Suncorp crowd laughed as each fumble was replayed on the big screen, and McKenzie had to settle for three points from the resulting penalty. The Reds then squandered a golden opportunity when Brown dropped the restart and Wilson grabbed the ball 15 metres out, only to throw a pass rather than back himself for the line. A loose offload from Nonggorr from the resulting scrum compounded the error. Combined with the controversial Uru decision, the Reds headed to the sheds trailing 7–10 and wondering what might have been.
The Chiefs’ bench made the difference in the second half. Taukei’aho’s injection from the interchange provided the decisive firepower, the All Blacks hooker steering two rolling maul tries over from the back. His first, in the 51st minute, followed a series of penalties that drew the Reds offside near the line. His second, in the 70th minute, came moments after Toomaga-Allen was sin-binned for cynically slapping the ball from the scrumhalf’s hands, and appeared to put the result beyond doubt at 24–14.
Between Taukei’aho’s two scores, fit-again flyhalf Carter Gordon sparked a Reds fightback with a moment of individual brilliance. Gordon’s beautiful cut-out pass released Wilson on the right wing, and the Wallabies captain produced a stunning no-look flick pass out the back of his hand — reminiscent of Len Ikitau at his best — to send blindside flanker Brial diving into the corner. Werchon converted from wide to cut the deficit to three, and Suncorp roared back to life.
The Reds then landed another blow through teenage replacement Pritchard, who showed flashy footwork to beat McKenzie on the outside and score his maiden Super Rugby Pacific try. At 21–24 with five minutes remaining, the comeback was alive. But a late penalty against Flook for an incorrect entry at the breakdown proved to be the death knell. The Chiefs opted for the scrum against the 14-man Reds, demolished the Queensland pack, and Sititi waltzed over untouched from the base to seal the victory.
“It was a bit of a dogfight,” Chiefs captain Jacobson told Stan Sport. “It was pretty scrappy. We were really just trying to fight for momentum. The Reds are a gutsy team, they’re a tough team to beat here at home as well. Really pleased with how we’ve come out on top there.”
Reds captain McReight, after coach Kiss almost stopped him from fronting the media, bit his tongue on the officiating but left no doubt about his frustration. “There were some tough ones out there tonight for sure,” he told Stan. “I felt there were definitely some calls that could have gone both ways. I thought we dug in really well. It’s a tough one to swallow.”
The Chiefs’ defensive effort was equally impressive, missing just eight tackles to the Reds’ 32, with Sititi contributing 22 tackles and a turnover won to complement his two tries. Xavier Roe was arguably the best player on the park during his stint at halfback, providing tempo and direction before making way for Cortez Ratima.
The result drops Queensland to fifth on the ladder, a daunting 11 points adrift of the top three with just three rounds remaining. Their hopes of a home qualifying final are all but over. The Chiefs, meanwhile, head to Dunedin next week knowing they are firmly in the box seat for the minor premiership.
Match details
Reds 21 (Tries: Lachie Anderson, Joe Brial, Treyvon Pritchard; Conversions: Harry McLaughlin-Phillips 1/1, Louis Werchon 2/2)
Chiefs 31 (Tries: Wallace Sititi 2, Samisoni Taukei’aho 2; Conversions: Damian McKenzie 4/4; Penalties: McKenzie 1/2)
Half-time: 7–10
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: Marcus Playle (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Fraser Hannon, Dan Moore
TMO: Glenn Newman
Teams
Reds: 15 Jock Campbell, 14 Filipo Daugunu, 13 Josh Flook, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Lachie Anderson, 10 Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, 9 Kalani Thomas, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Fraser McReight (c), 6 Joe Brial, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Seru Uru, 3 Zane Nonggorr, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 George Blake.
Replacements: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 18 Nick Bloomfield, 19 Hamish Muller, 20 Vaiuta Latu, 21 Louis Werchon, 22 Carter Gordon, 23 Treyvon Pritchard.
Chiefs: 15 Isaac Hutchinson, 14 Kyren Taumoefolau, 13 Kyle Brown, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Liam Coombes-Fabling, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Xavier Roe, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Luke Jacobson (c), 6 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Josh Lord, 3 George Dyer, 2 Tyrone Thompson, 1 Ollie Norris.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Jared Proffit, 18 Sione Ahio, 19 Fiti Sa, 20 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Lalakai Foketi.
What’s next
The Reds host Moana Pasifika in Round 15 after the bye in Round 14. The Chiefs travel to Dunedin to face the Highlanders next Saturday.
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