- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
After a devastating injury run which started back in 2022, Quinn Tupaea had dropped off the All Blacks’ selection radar but after a stellar performance against the ACT Brumbies he has put himself firmly back in the mix.
Tupaea’s dominant ball carrying caused the Brumbies all kinds of issues in the midfield which saw their defence at times struggle to contain the speed of the Chiefs outside backs, with the locals taking the game 49-34 in Waikato.
He really put his stamp on the game when he scored a solo chip-and-chase try from 30m out in the 46th-minute, riling up the crowd at the start of the second half.
Despite his Chiefs’ dominant performance, it was the visitors who got on the scoreboard first with Nick Frost scoring in the right-hand corner, in the sixth minute.
The first try of the game in hindsight lay out the Brumbies’ gameplan, as the much-improved side found plenty of space in the 15-metre channels and were able to punish the Chiefs to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
“We knew the Brumbies were going to come out firing after the tight loss last week against the Force,” said Chiefs captain Tupou Vaa’i told Sky Sports.
“They definitely attacked our edges, we knew they had speedsters out wide … we just need to work on our edge defence.”
ACT showed their intent early, opting to run the ball from deep within their own half and it paid off as the Chiefs were inaccurate at the breakdown, leading to a couple of consecutive penalties against the home side.
The territory gains from the penalties allowed the Brumbies to settle into a rhythm of direct running, building phases in and around the Chiefs’ 22m line.
The Brumbies’ connection in their pods was great and after getting a roll on the Chiefs defence were sucked into the centre which opened the space for Frost to score out wide.
However, it didn’t take long for the Chiefs to regather momentum and slice through a gap between Brumbies centres Ollie Sapsford and Len Ikitau from a centre-field scrum.
Declan Meredith is tackled by Josh Jacomb. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)
Tupaea made the line break and put his centre partner Anton-Lienert Brown away for the Chiefs’ first try in the 13th minute.
The Brumbies defence was at times too flimsy on the right edge and the Chiefs went back to the same corner only a couple minutes later, with rising playmaker Josh Jacomb finishing of another magnificent team try.
This was the start of the tit-for-tat nature of the game which saw a much-improved Brumbies punish a narrow Chiefs defence.
Despite the momentum being with the visitors, the Chiefs’ attacking weapons found ways to inject themselves into the game.
None more so than Damian McKenzie who almost scored the solo try of the season; when he made a 76m kick return, beating two defenders only to be thwarted by a superb, ball-and-all, try saving tackle from his opposing fullback Tom Wright.
It was a clutch moment from the Wallabies fullback but that was probably the extent of his truly positive involvements, for he appeared to be back to his rocks and diamonds ways.
Risky passes, failing to exit when his team was under pressure, and conceding a couple of turnovers.
The seesawing nature of the first half continued up until half-time with the teams hitting the sheds at 15-all.
Throughout the first half, decorated All Black Aaron Cruden commended the Brumbies for the “simplicity” of their gameplan, noting they were finding easy metres on the edge of the Chiefs’ defence.
“No one’s looking to overplay their hand … letting the ball do the work,” Cruden said after Declan Meredith’s try in the 19th minute.
Brumbies head coach Stephen Larkham made slightly different observations at the break, saying he wanted his side to be more direct.
“We’ve been shifting the ball a little bit wide, we wanna try and go through the middle a little bit more … and got to be on our kicking game,” he told Sky Sports.
Both sides were potent in their own right, but played vastly different games. The home side were often able to pick holes in the realigning Brumbies’ defence on counter-attack, whilst the visitors could squeeze penalties or mistakes out of the hosts once they had built phases.
The back-and-forth continued as the second half began but Quinn Tupaea’s chip-and-chase try gave the home side an extra push and they never lost the lead after that, scoring through reserve Gideon Wrampling only a few minutes later, making the score 29-15 in the 50th minute.
McKenzie, winger Emoni Narawa and Tupaea began to find more and more space through the middle of the Brumbies as the second half dragged on.
While the defence was questionable in moments, the Brumbies should be proud of a mostly dominant set piece performance which milked several penalties out of the Chiefs pack at both scrum and lineout, as well as a try from a rolling maul.
Veterans James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa were excellent around the ground and at the scrum, whilst Sapsford and Andy Muirhead were the unsung foot soldiers in the backs for the visitors, both were everywhere and tackled their hearts out.
A mention must go to Meredith, who like his side, didn’t “overplay” his hand but rather was selective with his involvements, while speedster Corey Toole took a step up on the physical side of things.
The scoreline flattered the Brumbies in the end, with a mis-run play resulting with Muirhead scoring a lucky try in the 61st minute, bringing the score to 29-26 but that’s as close as they got.
Overall, it was much improved performance from the Brumbies compared to last week against the Force.
It was relatively mistake-free game from the Brums, but the Chiefs made every little mistake count and punished them accordingly.
The Chiefs weren’t perfect, showing a wobbly lineout, poor discipline at times and weren’t dominant at the breakdown but their strike weapons and big ball carriers were always able to wrestle back momentum.
If you needed a moment to encapsulate the game look no further than Chiefs flanker Samipeni Finau’s barnstorming run over the top of Frost in the 44th minute.
In the end the Chiefs were too clinical at finishing their chances and the Brumbies had too many gaps in their defence.
And while the Chiefs will take the hard-fought win, the Brumbies may come to rue a tough game which feels as though it got away.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.