Chiefs
From bidding for an unprecedented hat-trick of Super Rugby titles to merely keeping their dwindling playoffs hopes alive, the once-mighty Waikato Chiefs’ decline has been as rapid as it has been puzzling.
Bottom of the New Zealand conference and ninth overall, the Chiefs could see their title defence end in front of home fans in Hamilton on Friday when they take on a ravenous Hurricanes side who humiliated them 45-8 in May.
Having lost four of their last six games, the Chiefs’ struggles have underlined the strength of New Zealand rugby, with all five of the conference’s teams still in contention for the post-season with two rounds to play.
There is just six competition points separating the five New Zealand Conference teams, but with four intense local derbies to come, there is no chance of the Kiwi teams dominating the 2014 Super Rugby Finals Series.
The Crusaders and Highlanders destinies are in their own hands, although in a delicious twist of fate those two meet in the final round so that clash could be for a top six berth.
The Hurricanes, just one point behind, do not have their fate completely in their own hands, one of just two teams with only one fixture remaining.
The Blues and Chiefs need results to go their way if they are to survive.
Highlanders (10) 29 / 25 (13) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Robbie Fruean
Super Rugby resumes following the June Test window with the first of three straight New Zealand derby matches for the Chiefs, and they certainly know what’s at stake.
The first of these matches is against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday night and head coach Dave Rennie knows his team cannot afford another slip.
“This is a massive game and we have prepared really well,” he said.
Robbie Fruean
Robbie Fruean is set to return for the Chiefs’ must-win battle with the Highlanders after recovering from an astounding three heart surgeries.
The 25-year old has seen some action in the past few weeks playing local club rugby after fearing that he may never return to the sport at all.
“It’ll be awesome, the past couple of weeks I’ve been playing a bit of club rugby,” said the block-busting centre.
Quentin MacDonald
Brad Weber
The Chiefs have signed former Crusaders and Tasman hooker Quentin MacDonald as well as Waikato captain Brad Weber.
Tasman hooker Quentin MacDonald has returned to New Zealand after playing for Munster in Ireland. MacDonald will join the Chiefs for the 2015 Super Rugby Season after this years ITM Cup season.
Damian McKenzie
New Zealand Under 20’s backliner Damian McKenzie has been promoted into the Chiefs squad for the rest of the Super Rugby season.
McKenzie was part of the Chiefs Wider training group and also featured for the New Zealand U20’s in the Junior World Championship.
Aaron Cruden
New Zealand rugby has secured a major commitment from one of its key players, with All Blacks and Chiefs flyhalf Aaron Cruden signing on for a further three years.
The 25-year-old Cruden, who played his 31st Test in the All Blacks victory over England on the weekend, has signed with New Zealand Rugby and the Chiefs through until 2017. He has also re-signed with his Manawatu Turbos provincial side for the same period.
Cruden said it was an easy decision for him to make.
Asaeli Tikoirotuma
Fiji’s Aseli Tikoirotuma has signed for Harlequins on a two-tear contract, the English Premiership side announced on Thursday.
“Aseli is one of the most exciting backs in world rugby, and we are delighted that he has signed for us,” said Harlequins rugby director Conor O’Shea.
Chiefs (3) 17 / 33 (13) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth at 06:35 SA Time (16:35 NZ Time, 14:35 AEST, 04:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Charlie Ngatai
Chiefs centre Charlie Ngatai has re-signed with the back-to-back champions for the next two years.
The former national age grade sprint champion has played 19 matches for the Chiefs, proving to be quick and versatile, with the ability to play anywhere in the backline.
The Chiefs’ two-year reign as Super Rugby champions is under threat after their 45-8 loss to the Hurricanes during the Round 15 clash, in which tournament standings underwent seismic transformation.
South Africa’s Sharks provided an element of stability by beating the Auckland-based Blues 29-23 to remain atop the championships ladder, five points clear of the New South Wales Waratahs.
The Chiefs and ACT Brumbies, who were beaten 44-23 by the Pretoria-based Bulls, not only gave up their places atop the New Zealand and Australian conferences but entirely dropped out of the top six.
It is a measure of the closeness of this season’s playoffs race that a single round can so thoroughly change the leading standings and a single defeat can impinge so heavily on any team’s title hopes.
Hurricanes (21) 45 / 8 (8) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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New Zealand Super Rugby Franchise Jerseys with child names
The jerseys of the five New Zealand Super Rugby teams will look slightly different this weekend.
All of the jerseys being worn by the five New Zealand-based Super Rugby squads have been customised for Round 15 with the name of a different child.
It was done as part of a charity initiative run by the BNZ in aid of Plunket – New Zealand’s largest provider of support services for the development, health and well-being of children under the age of 5.
Tim Nanai-Williams
Dynamic and versatile back, Tim Nanai-Williams, has re-committed to the Super Rugby champions, signing until at least the end of the 2015 season.
The 24-year-old has played 62 matches for the Chiefs and said that re-signing was an easy decision.
The lowest mark for a Super Rugby Finals Series qualifier over recent years has been 53, meaning that this season one can mathematically assume in 2014 at least 45 points gives a team a chance of playing knockout rugby.
Remember 8 less points are on offer in 2014 with nothing awarded for a bye.
The Melbourne Rebels are now out of calculations, for while a potentially brilliant perfect 25 from 25 points in their closing run covers the rudimentary maths, they would need to rely on a perfect maelstrom of losing chaos at the top of the table.
The Blues, although 1oth and in a precarious position on the Log, have 5 games left, but from hereon in it is crunch time for them. They almost need a flawless run from here and a loss to the Sharks, will certainly put them out of the running on the weekend.
For the Vodacom Bulls, it becomes doubly difficult now, they only have 4 games left, compared to 5 by most of the teams above them in the pecking order. One more loss, and you can write them off. They need a near perfect run in their 4 games, earning at least 17 Log points from 4 games, so that means at least one bonus point try win and the rest all wins.
Evaluation in reverse order:
Talented young scrumhalf Augustine Pulu has committed to the Chiefs for at least the next two years.
The 24-year old has played 31 matches for the Chiefs, including seven so far this season, scoring two tries and assisting another.
The Chiefs have been given a big boost for this week’s Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes as Aaron Cruden has been cleared to make his return this week.
Cruden’s return will be a big boost for the Chiefs as well as the All Blacks who face England in a three Test series next month.
First-five Cruden has been training with the All Blacks in Christchurch but has not featured for the Chiefs since the beginning of April.
Chiefs (20) 32 / 20 (13) Blues (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
Yarrow Stadium, Taranaki at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has made a number of changes to his team for the Super Rugby crunch match against the Blues.
The Chiefs and Blues go head-to-head in Taranaki on Friday in a game that could have a big bearing on deciding the New Zealand conference.
This is the first of a 3-part Series looking at each team’s chances with each Conference with little more than a third of the regular season remaining.
We kick off with the New Zealand Conference!
SUMMARY: The closest conference so far, there is only 5 Competition Log Points separating the teams and of all the countries, the amount of local derbies will ensure significant cannibalisation.
There are 11 New Zealand derby matches remaining in the last 7 rounds.
Three wins and only one defeat against Australasian opposition meant the last round of Vodacom Super Rugby was the best weekend from a South African perspective since round two earlier this year.
However, two of the three wins in the second round were in local derbies. This weekend, only the Vodacom Bulls’ victory over the Toyota Cheetahs was an all-South African affair as the Cell C Sharks and the DHL Stormers clinched victories over Australasian opponents.
In fact, the Cell C Sharks broke a losing run of 13 matches in Australasia for the South African franchises (this includes the Toyota Cheetahs’ defeat in their 2013 Qualifier against the Brumbies in Canberra) when they beat the Rebels by 22-16 in Melbourne on Friday morning.
Former All Black stalwart Mils Muliaina has signed for Connacht for next season, the Irish province announced on Monday.
The 33-year-old fullback, capped 100 times by New Zealand, has signed a one-year contract with the Irish club to become the first ever All Black to play with Connacht.
Chiefs (19) 38 / 8 (3) Lions (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Lions did battle in Super Rugby at
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Chiefs made 14 changes (9 to the starting 15) to their team to play the Lions at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday.
Lions Head Coach Johann Ackermann has anounced a side that includes a plethora of backline changes from that defeated by the Stormers to take on the Chiefs this weekend.
Elton Jantjies returns at the expense of the tounaments leading points scorer, Marnitz Boshoff, who drops to the bench and in the forwards Warren Whiteley returns to captain the side.
Gareth Anscombe has become hot property recently with coaches from Wales and New Zealand hinting that they would like to secure the play-makers signature.
Anscombe, who is currently contracted to the Chiefs for Super Rugby – but only until the end of the season – is on the Blues, Cardiff Blues, New Zealand and Wales international team’s wish list.
The Brumbies will be crowned 2014 Vodacom Super Rugby champions – if bookmakers are to be believed…
The Brumbies, currently atop the Australian Conference and in second place in the Overall standings, have been installed as 33/10 favourites to add to their titles from 2001 and 2004, by SA bookies BetXchange.
Brumbies (13) 41 / 23 (6) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
GIO Stadium, Canberra at 09:40 SA Time (17:40 AEST, 19:40 NZ Time, 07:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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The Chiefs have announced their team to play the Brumbies in what looms as a tantalising re-match of the 2013 Super Rugby Final at GIO Stadium Canberra on Friday afternoon.
“It is special to be playing a match against an Australian team on Anzac Day,” said Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie.
Chiefs lock Michael Fitzgerald has been suspended for one week after he pleaded guilty on a charge of dangerous tackling in his team’s 10th round Super Rugby match against the Crusaders.
SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Jannie Lubbe SC accepted a guilty plea from Fitzgerald for contravening Law 10.4 (e) Dangerous Tackling, after he was cited during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Chiefs (17) 17 / 18 (9) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Tanerau Latimer will play his 100th game for the Chiefs when they host the Crusaders in Hamilton on Saturday.
The 4-cap All Black loose forward first played five Super Rugby games for the Crusaders in 2006, but since joining the Chiefs in 2007 he has racked up 99 caps, scored eight tries and won two Super Rugby titles.
The 27-year-old will become only the second player in the Chiefs 18-year history to become a centurion and will join Liam Messam in this elite club.
Chiefs outside back Mils Muliaina has been ruled out for the rest of the Super Rugby season.
The former All Blacks fullback has succumbed to an elbow injury aggravated in their round two match against the Crusaders in February.
The Chiefs have been given a boost for this weekend’s Super Rugby match against a resurgent Crusaders team in Hamilton on Saturday as Brodie Retallick has been passed fit.
Retallick was forced to leave the field in Saturday’s ninth round match against the Melbourne Rebels after suffering a head knock but looks OK to play this weekend.