The Super Rugby Final is upon us as the Chiefs host the Brumbies in the championship decider. Join us on The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5.30pm AEST.
In the biggest match of the year the Brumbies will travel to Hamilton, where the Chiefs will be trying to win the Final in front of their home fans for the second year in a row.
Already the match has been called a sell-out, so the Brumbies are sure to face a raucous crowd the second week in a row after playing in front of very parochial Bulls fans last week.
Across the park both sides come into the Final with players in good form, as you’d imagine after both have won their respective Conferences this year which means they’ve been very consistent.
One of the important match-ups is the front-row battle.
The Brumbies’ trio of Scott Sio, Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander were very strong last week in the victory at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
They play a strong role around the park and help the Brumbies gain physical dominance at the rucks – especially Sio, for a front-row forward he gets over the ball regularly in the mould of an Andrew Hore.
Toby Smith, Hika Elliot and Ben Tameifuna have been good for the Chiefs as well this year and are always involved.
One area of weakness last week against the Crusaders was the lineout throwing of Elliot, and that will need to be addressed before tonight’s match.
Sio and Moore are very strong scrummagers, and although Alexander had a strong showing last week he’s not always the strongest in that department, so Toby Smith and Elliot may look to target him at that particular set piece and see if they can prize an opening.
Both sides have ample firepower in the backline as evidenced by the fact both teams punctuated committed, physical performances with speedy, skilful tries by the backs.
The back three of the Chiefs – Leila Masaga (likely to play despite being bracketed in the team announcement), Asaeli Tikoirotuma and Gareth Anscombe is one of the best all-round groups in the competition.
They’re matched by the equally capable Brumbies division of Joe Tomane, Henry Speight and Jesse Mogg.
The result of such quality in those positions will mean any wayward punts or short kicks through the line will be punished, and fans should get ready for some game-turning counter-attacks to come at pivotal moments.
Either side could win or lose the game there.
This Final is one of those occasions where the expectation of a genuine rugby contest probably won’t go unfounded.
Neither side will budge physically, or be afraid of playing the field position game at times, but both will be aware of the defensive commitment of the opposition and the need to operate with speed to have a chance of breaking them down.
Each team has the brute strength and skill level required to make the most of any opportunities that arise and we should be the beneficiaries of an exciting game because of it.
Don’t forget to log on here at 5.30pm AEST to get your live scores, commentary and have your own say.
vman
Guest
Wheres jiggles been lately and all his calls about the week nz teams, he's been rather silent since the reds got smashed out of the comp
IvanN
Guest
World Cup 2007 - Springboks - Many awesome tries from all over the park. ~ Jake always said that once the defense is solid, they will add the attack. what good is scoring 50 if you let 60 past you.
Blackboy
Guest
Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs......that's right, the chant of the Mighty Waikato.
stillmatic1
Guest
it could be argued hat he has the weapons to play a much wider game than what he allows though mike. the brumbies have a very competent backline but are seldom used in such a way. the argument is valid that they play a boks circa 09 style of kicking possession away in order to get penalties off the attacking team. although the boks won the 3n in 09 they were derided by many people for this style of play and it slowly became undone when the opposition finally learnt how to catch! it is the same reason the stormers have been unable to take the next step due to not scoring the required points to snuff out attacking teams. I feel that if the brumbies open up a bit more in attack then they ought to be very very difficult to beat (which they already are at the mo), due to stretching the opposition defence much more and causing a lot more pressure throughout the game. the chiefs (or anyone) will always find it easy to defend a 10 man like attack system opposed to the alternative. they had the biscuits up until the 65th minute mark and then a quick 1 2 punch by the chiefs had the game almost sealed. it was the same vs the saders the week before and always a danger when playing attacking teams (reds, canes etc). mowen, fardy and smith were all black like at the breakdown, running amok and causing havoc. toomua had a quiet game, lili was good without being spectacular, and it was a real team effort by the brumbies. very good year overall by them.
DR
Guest
Haha. Got that wrong ;)
Kuruki
Roar Guru
TKB has lost his effectiveness as a player because he has lost his confidence to run the ball. His snipping runs and his abrassivness were what had him selected for the All Blacks. He has not been the same player post injury, and that is not uncommon time will fix this. Perenara was the same it has taken him time to come right from his broken leg. He did not do an amazing job he was under pressure and his performance showed exactly that, he had no answer. Pulu was outstanding when he came on and the flow on effect was instant.
Mike
Guest
Interesting comment by Mark Ella in the Australian yesterday: "If Toomua has any hopes of representing the Wallabies this year, he will need to begin by outplaying Cruden in Hamilton."
badger
Guest
Ahhh yeah i have actually mate. No 8 for five year's at high school. No need to get testy It's just my opinion. He looked indecisive around the ruck's, took to much time to clear the ball and sent out some passes that weren't exactly hitting the chest. Pulu Really got their game going when he came on with crisp sharp service.
Mike
Guest
Suit yourself, BB. I think a comment like "boring bloody SA style of play" is an inept one. White's plan was an appropriate one for a team that had played within the last week, that had flown over from SA, and that hasn't been nearly as dominant during the season as their opponents. It wasn't particularly "SA style" at all, just smart rugby under the circumstances. Nor was it "boring" except to those who should be watching another code. But we can agree to disagree!
Mike
Guest
sums it up well. it wasn't because of "boring bloody SA style of play" as Wardad asserts. JW simply used what he had to maximise his team's chances. The difference was in the Chiefs ability to execute on the field.
Mike
Guest
Every team plays "pragmatically". The Chiefs played pragmatically. "The only reason the Brumbies were in the game for the first 60 minutes was due to Chiefs mistakes." - Even to the extent that is true, it shows that White worked well with what he had. The Brumbies would have done more if they could, but the Chiefs are a great team. "Historically, SupeRugby finals are won by teams that defend AND attack well," - Of course. Thank you for agreeing with me. But whether or not a team CAN attack depends on what happens on the field.
Kuruki
Roar Guru
Your blinded by victory. I guess you have never heard the All Blacks being critical of themselves after winning? Maybe that is why they have been the best team in the world for so long because they don't let the end result mask over the issues they had during the game. Sometimes you need to look past the glory. TKB has been in poor form for months, his selection in the All Black squad seems to blind everybody to that fact, "oh Hansen rates him so he must be the best". I watch rugby with my own eyes i don't need to read or hear other peoples opinions before i have one of my own. Pulu done well because when the pressure was on he made the right decisions, he ran the ball and made breaks, he kicked when he needed to, he did not force passes under pressure and put those outside under even more. Only once did TKB use his feet when Brumbies players were illegally slowing his ball down the one time he done it worked. There was so many things he did not do to help himself in the situation he was in. Yes the Chiefs won and good on them but they have so much room for improvement it's not funny. And they can go back to back to back if they learn from past mistakes, if they allow victory to hide these areas they can improve someone is going to overtake them. I have been a Chiefs supporter from day one, i'm only critical because i can see so much improvement and i would rather enjoy the game then suffer continued heart attacks watching it. We can be so much better and that should be scary for everyone else. I do rate TKB he will come back better next year, his confidence took a huge knock when he got injured.
DilzfromHtown
Guest
I saw maybe one or two bad passes from TKB one of which lealiifano took advantage of and scored a try. TKB done an amazing job and if you watch TKB in the changing rooms he's giving pulu advice on what to do when he gets on. Bench players are supposed to make an impact in the final minutes that's why they're on the BENCH!!! Have you ever played a real game of footy before jeez
Kuruki
Roar Guru
Really? so who was throwing all of the poor passes then?
gekko
Guest
... and they will be by the Waratahs
gekko
Guest
Waratahs beating the Ponies in next year's final ...
Firstxv
Guest
One thing thats puzzling and not yet answered is why Anscombe hasnt been kicking the goals. Crudens role as playmaker has been critical the past two games and he could have been left to focus on that. Anscombe has a more technically correct style of goalkicking better suited to high pressure. This remains a bad call by Rennie and could have lost them the match...other than that, the Chiefs better all round game got them there.
Billy Bob
Guest
Yes Tane, and people should remember that without nic White's sharp work all season there would have been no final. Assisting Smith steal the Bulls touchdown last week a prime example. Nic White can hold his head high. He's a world class halfback.
dezzy10
Guest
Disaster? When has a pragmatic approach won a SupeRugby final? The only reason the Brumbies were in the game for the first 60 minutes was due to Chiefs mistakes. When the Chiefs kicked on and eradicated those mistakes the Brumbies did not have much to feed on. They lacked in attack to accumulate more points. Historically, SupeRugby finals are won by teams that defend AND attack well, they are won by teams that scores tries rather than penalties alone.
Batdown
Guest
Good comment wardad, JWs tactics leaned towards a much closer 10mins. He was correct in his tactics, unfortunately his brave troops could not close out the game. The Chiefs had another gear the Brumbies could not match.