The Chiefs delivered their biggest win in history against the Crusaders, running in six first-half tries to crush the defending champions 49–12 in a devastating semi-final performance at FMG Stadium Waikato and book their place in next weekend’s Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final.
- Chiefs reach their fifth Grand Final in six years with their most emphatic play-off victory
- Six converted first-half tries produced a scarcely believable 42–5 lead at the break
- Damian McKenzie celebrated his 150th Super Rugby match with a perfect 7/7 from the tee
- Kyren Taumoefolau scored twice; every Chiefs back was involved in first-half tries
- Crusaders exit ends Rob Penney’s three-year coaching tenure; Scott Hansen set to take over
- Injury concerns for Chiefs: Isaac Hutchinson (leg), Quinn Tupaea (ankle), Lalakai Foketi and Luke Jacobson all failed to finish
Key moments
11 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Innovation at the lineout as Josh Lord peeled around the front, and the Chiefs shifted left to expose Johnny McNicholl isolated on the edge. Lalakai Foketi floated a wide ball to Kyren Taumoefolau, who waltzed into the corner untouched. Damian McKenzie converted from the left sideline. (Chiefs 7–0)
15 mins – TRY CHIEFS: A strong carry from Samipeni Finau was followed by quick ball left, with McKenzie stabbing a low kick in behind towards the left wing. Taumoefolau chased on an angled run, kicked further ahead off the ground, then had the awareness to slow and gather short of the line before diving over for his second. McKenzie converted. (Chiefs 14–0)
20 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Straight off a solid scrum platform, the Chiefs came to the right edge where Foketi went clean past a poor defensive read from Braydon Ennor. He drew the final defender and found Isaac Hutchinson off his right shoulder, who had enough pace and strength to score in the tackle of Chay Fihaki. McKenzie converted. (Chiefs 21–0)
24 mins – TRY CHIEFS: The scrum collapsed so the Chiefs cleared it and hammered away at the line. Samisoni Taukei’aho got to the back of the ruck, picked up, and burrowed over with fantastic low body position. McKenzie converted. (Chiefs 28–0)
25 mins – INJURY: Isaac Hutchinson succumbed to a leg injury and was replaced by Leroy Carter.
26 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: A Chiefs clearing kick was batted backwards by David Havili and McNicholl cleaned up. It was sent infield for Taha Kemara, who busted clean through with superb footwork. A wide pass found Fihaki on the right, and he had the pace to finish in the corner. Kemara missed the conversion from the right sideline. (Chiefs 28–5)
30 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Jamie Hannah dropped the restart and the Chiefs struck immediately. After staying patient with the forwards on the right, it came back left with McKenzie shaping to play wide. Leroy Carter angled back through traffic to take McKenzie’s pass and carved through under the posts. McKenzie converted. (Chiefs 35–5)
33 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Liam Coombes-Fabling spotted the chance to end a kicking duel, chipping over a disjointed Crusaders chase line and charging through to claim on the full beyond halfway. He busted past Noah Hotham, found Foketi rampaging in support, and it was turned back inside for Tupou Vaa’i to finish. McKenzie converted. (Chiefs 42–5)
35 mins – INJURY: Leicester Fainga’anuku limped off for the Crusaders, replaced by Dom Gardiner.
Half-time: Chiefs 42–5 Crusaders. An extraordinary forty minutes from the Chiefs, who blew the defending champions off the park. The platform was set by a dominant pack winning the battle at the breakdown, with McKenzie orchestrating six converted tries as the backs ran riot. Taumoefolau scored twice, Taukei’aho and Vaa’i crossed from the forwards, and Carter struck immediately off the bench. The Crusaders had no answer to the Chiefs’ skill and variation in attack.
44 mins – CHANCE BUTCHERED: Ennor went clean through off slick handling from Kemara, with Hotham backing up on the inside, but the pass was a fraction behind and Hotham knocked on 10 metres out. A crucial missed opportunity for the Crusaders.
47 mins – TRY DISALLOWED: Christian Lio-Willie claimed a try after the Crusaders hammered at the line from a tapped penalty, but TMO Graham Cooper scrubbed it out for a knock-on by Dom Gardiner in the build-up.
55 mins – INJURY: Quinn Tupaea left the field clutching his ankle after going down in a ruck. Replaced by Josh Jacomb.
63 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Havili powered straight off a scrum win, drove into contact and pumped the legs to reach out and ground the ball on the line. Rivez Reihana converted. (Chiefs 42–12)
64 mins – YELLOW CARD CHIEFS: Coombes-Fabling tipped Jamie Hannah dangerously at the restart and was shown a yellow card.
79 mins – TRY CHIEFS: A penalty advantage as the scrum powered ahead. Simon Parker got close, the forwards had a couple of goes, and Xavier Roe found a hole inside George Bower with a dummy right and a dummy left to score. McKenzie converted to finish seven from seven off the tee. (Chiefs 49–12)
Full-time: Chiefs 49–12 Crusaders
Match report
Five straight finals losses and three successive regular-season defeats to the Crusaders had left the Chiefs with everything to prove against their great modern rivals. On a cool, still Friday night in Hamilton, with Damian McKenzie’s 150th match providing an emotional backdrop, they proved it in emphatic fashion with a performance that was as ruthless as it was complete.
The Chiefs’ intent was evident from the opening exchanges. After a relatively even first ten minutes in which both packs traded carries and kicks, the home side sparked to life and never let up. They turned down multiple shots at goal, backing their pack to finish the job from close range, and were rewarded time after time as the Crusaders’ defence disintegrated.
Taumoefolau opened the scoring in the 11th minute after the Chiefs manufactured an overlap on the left edge from an innovative lineout play. Lord peeled around the front and the ball was shifted wide, with Foketi spotting McNicholl stranded in isolation and floating the final pass to Taumoefolau, who strolled over untouched. Four minutes later, Taumoefolau had his second – a remarkable individual effort that began with McKenzie’s low grubber in behind, continued with Taumoefolau kicking ahead off the turf mid-chase, and ended with the winger having the presence of mind to slow, gather, and dive over.
It was the kind of attacking rugby that the Chiefs had promised all season, and the Crusaders simply could not live with it. The home side’s power ball carrying won most, if not all, collisions, generating unstoppable front-foot possession that allowed time and space for the backs to exploit. Tupaea continued his standout season with a masterclass of dominant carries – including one where he steamrolled over the top of opposite number Havili – while the forward pack crushed their opponents at almost every opportunity.
The third try arrived in the 20th minute when Foketi sliced clean through a poor defensive read from Ennor and found Hutchinson off his right shoulder to finish. It was Hutchinson’s last meaningful contribution before succumbing to a leg injury, but his replacement Carter – the All Blacks winger returning from a hamstring issue – wasted no time in making his mark. After Taukei’aho had burrowed over from close range for the fourth try on 24 minutes, Hannah dropped the restart and Carter carved through under the posts within seconds to make it 35–5.
The Crusaders’ lone first-half highlight came through Kemara, who busted clean through the Chiefs’ midfield with superb footwork before finding Fihaki out wide. But it was a brief interruption to the onslaught. Coombes-Fabling produced the try of the match on 33 minutes, chipping over a disjointed chase line and regathering on the full beyond halfway before finding Foketi rampaging in support. The ball was turned back inside for Vaa’i to crash over – a fitting score for the All Blacks lock who had spoken before the match about the importance of composure. McKenzie’s sixth conversion from six attempts made it 42–5 at the break.
Even the Crusaders’ errors before half-time told the story of a side under consuming pressure. Hannah, one of their best performers this season, dropped a regulation restart, and the vastly experienced Taylor had a wonky lineout throw just before the break.
The second half was always going to be an anticlimax, and so it proved. The Chiefs were content to preserve their commanding lead, and the contest lost its intensity as both sides emptied their benches. The Crusaders had promising moments – Ennor burst through midfield early in the half before Hotham knocked on with the line beckoning, and Lio-Willie powered over only for TMO Cooper to scrub the try for a Gardiner knock-on in the build-up. Penney was furious on both occasions, but the damage had long since been done.
Havili salvaged some respectability with a powerful carry off a scrum in the 63rd minute, driving through three tacklers to ground the ball, but Coombes-Fabling’s yellow card for a dangerous tip on Hannah at the subsequent restart was the only other moment of note before Roe rumbled over for the Chiefs’ seventh try from the base of a dominant scrum in the final minute.
The result ends Penney’s three-year coaching tenure with the Crusaders, with former All Blacks assistant Scott Hansen set to take the reins next season. The defending champions deserve credit for rallying from a dire Australian tour in April – when they lost successive matches to the Reds and Force – to win four straight Kiwi derbies and reach the final four. But away from home, against a Chiefs side that delivered their performance of the season, they were outclassed in every facet.
For the Chiefs, this was a statement that they are ready, in Jono Gibbes’ first season at the helm, to break their 12-year title drought. McKenzie was the conductor of the orchestra but was far from a lone hand, with Tupaea, Foketi, Coombes-Fabling, Taumoefolau, Hutchinson and Carter all playing starring roles behind a dominant pack anchored by Lord and Vaa’i in the lineout and Taukei’aho in the loose.
The injury toll will be a concern heading into next weekend’s decider, with Hutchinson, Tupaea, Foketi and captain Jacobson all failing to finish the contest. Tupaea battled through his ankle issue to suggest it may not be too serious, but Gibbes will be sweating on the fitness of his midfield combination.
Match details
Chiefs 49 (Tries: Taumoefolau 2, Hutchinson, Taukei’aho, Carter, Vaa’i, Roe; Conversions: McKenzie 7/7)
Crusaders 12 (Tries: Fihaki, Havili; Conversions: Kemara 0/1, Reihana 1/1)
Half-time: 42–5
Venue: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees: George Myers, Matt Kellahan
TMO: Graham Cooper
Teams
Chiefs: 15 Isaac Hutchinson, 14 Liam Coombes-Fabling, 13 Lalakai Foketi, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Kyren Taumoefolau, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Simon Parker, 7 Luke Jacobson (c), 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Sione Ahio, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ollie Norris.
Replacements: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 Jared Proffit, 18 George Dyer, 19 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20 Kaylum Boshier, 21 Xavier Roe, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Leroy Carter.
Crusaders: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Chay Fihaki, 13 Braydon Ennor, 12 David Havili (c), 11 Sevu Reece, 10 Taha Kemara, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Jamie Hannah, 4 Antonio Shalfoon, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Finlay Brewis.
Replacements: 16 Manumaua Letiu, 17 Jack Sexton, 18 George Bower, 19 Tahlor Cahill, 20 Dom Gardiner, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Rivez Reihana, 23 Macca Springer.
What’s next
The Chiefs will face the winner of Saturday’s semi-final between the Hurricanes and Blues in the Grand Final. If the top-ranked Hurricanes prevail as expected, the Chiefs will travel to Hnry Stadium in Wellington for the decider. Should the Blues spring an upset, the Chiefs would host the Grand Final at FMG Stadium Waikato.
