Chiefs coach Dave Rennie just doesn’t know how to lose, although his heart must have been in his mouth when the Brumbies led 22-12 into the final quarter last night of the Super Rugby final at Waikato Stadium.
He didn’t move from his seat in the coaches box, giving the distinct impression he didn’t have a care in the world he looked so composed.
And so were his troops as they piled on 15 unanswered points in 19 minutes to run over the Brumbies 27-22, scoring two tries to one.
And they both came up in just four critical minutes of lapsed Brumbies concentration – the 64th with Liam Messam, and the 68th with replacement Robbie Robinson.
Game, set, and match.
That gave Rennie five major deciders in six years – three junior world titles with the under 20 All Blacks from 2008 to 2010, and back-to-back Super Rugby crowns in 2012, and last night.
By any standards an awesome record.
Quite a leap from the first six years of his adult life as a school-teacher, then owning a bar for a couple of years, the ultimate for any thirsty rugby man, before the taste of coaching rugby became his cherished goal.
And he’s kicked it big time.
The Chiefs were the easy-beats of the tournament when he took over last year, having finished 13th in 2011.
Not blessed with a blanket of All Blacks like the Crusaders, Rennie has turned them into a force to be reckoned with against any opposition.
But he would be the first to acknowledge the Brumbies left the door ajar for his side to sneak through.
Jake White’s men had moments of brilliance, followed by lesser moments of sheer stupidity.
And it was those stupid moments that belted the Brumbies.
If coach White made one blunder it was not hooking half-back Nic White at the break.
White had a shocker, He was so pedestrian clearing the ball from set and ruck-maul play, even referee Craig Joubert was often calling for White to “use it”.
There were 11 times in the Game 1 jotted in my notes that White had cost the Brumbies either penalties, points, possession, or position on the field. And that’s at least 10 times too many.
Benchman Ian Prior would have been a far better proposition, despite his comparable inexperience.
While full-back Jesse Mogg wasn’t far behind White in a game he will willingly forget, with prop Ben Alexander a third culprit at critical moments.
Fox sideline commentator Rod Kafer, himself a Brumby in his playing days, tried desperately hard to blame the 30,000-plus kilometres the Brumbies have been forced to travel in the last four weeks. But that ploy held no water.
The Brumbies blew it, It was as simple as that.
But the vast majority of them were integral parts of the 22-12 lead, with Christian Lealiifano hungry for points scoring all 22 with a spectacular try, converting it, and landing five penalties from as many attempts, and George Smith playing his heart out in his Brumby record-setting 142nd Super game.
It was cold comfort, but hot recognition that the first Man-of-the-Match final medal was named the George Smith Medal and won by Liam Messam, who had a blinder.
In a game very worthy of a final, there was one stat that added to the Brumbies demise, missing 23 tackles to nine.
Concrete defence has been the benchmark for Jake White’s success until push turned to shove when it counted.
So well played Chiefs for being just like your coach – composed, confident, classy, and not cracking under pressure.
And for winning the coveted crown.
Mike
Guest
Tatah, You seem to have missed my point: I wasn't speculating that Jake "might change his ways". Rather I was suggesting that his ways as they are right now would be popular with the Australian public if they resulted in wins - the basis of my argument is that the Australian public are far more interested in winning than in style. Mind you, this raises another issue - Jake White actually does vary his style and game plan to suit his opponent and the circumstances.
Nova
Guest
Hear hear wardad I hear ya!! Woooohooo nothing 'cloudy' in that post lol
Garth
Guest
Agree. TKB has been far too slow clearing the ball this season. Pulu has performed better this season.
Chivas
Guest
You ascribe one post to a whole country. A rather large generalisation don't you think? Or just don't you think!
richard
Guest
haha,love it!
joeb
Guest
"Pretty shocking. Not sure what to say, really…" Gee, half expected an R rating. Clyde Rathbone says Brumbies' Super Rugby final loss was 'poetic justice' for negative tactics by: Jamie Pandaram From: The Daily Telegraph August 04, 2013 10:00PM http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/clyde-rathbone-says-brumbies-super-rugby-final-loss-was-poetic-justice-for-negative-tactics/story-e6frfkp9-1226690915573 Gee, late lunch beckons.
joeb
Guest
Don't do yourself a disservice - Lordy's articles are second to none. No banter, just serious rugby. :)
joeb
Guest
Actually it's not only good news for the Chiefs, it also enhances interest in RWC 2015 as we all appreciate his skills, ;) And Benji now at the Blues, uh-oh, this now considerably strengthens the ABs' prospects. Essential for the Tahs to pull out all stops to keep Izzy signed on.
joeb
Guest
"...you would be first to acknowledge that the best team won on the day." Slightly ahead of you. Did congratulate them on Spiro's earlier thread, or Lordy's. One or the other. For confirmation, yep, the Chiefs deserved it, it was indeed 'poetic justice' considering our obsession with field position instead of placing some trust in the backline. Clyde touched the ball 'twice' all match, and he's a match winner given the opportunity.
joeb
Guest
"If the ref made the right call they would’ve got another 3 points." Yes, but when it was used in 3 or 4 successive scrums late in the match, in one it seemed we were setting up for a drop-goal attempt, it becomes a negative ploy. And the set backline goes to waste, including Toomua's chance to impress the Wallaby selectors. That said, O'Connor shouldn't be written off as a viable effective 10 for the future Wallabies because he did improve in each outing against the Lions, as Genia, Horan and McArdle, among others, noted. Immensely talented, JOC.
soapit
Guest
better tell google maps. so does a place like canterbury nz not exist in any context? seems a bit funny that they previously were the canterbury crusaders. seriously though nz doesnt do the comp any favours by having no geographic region associated with these teams. people ask me where the chiefs were on sat and the best i could do was "kind of the area around waikato i think". doesnt encourage people to get into the comp when theres nothing to identify the different teams other than their nickname.
Ra
Guest
And I think both Deans and Smith would have come under Grizz Wyllie's tutelage at some time and he also had a stella reign as coach at Canterbury - the Red and Black machine was just that under the Great Grizz - a Machine.
Ra
Guest
but Richie with his higher IQ knows he is on side, so do the refs, its just everyone elses IQ that's being strained. Smith is always off side, it's so constant that refs treat it as "normal" so he gets away with it
Ra
Guest
I think the mention of the head coach implies the coaching team. Every head coach refers to their team, they speak about we and us with an occasional I in there. David in this article talks of Rennie but all avid rugby fans Kiwi in particular know the experience of Wayne Smith as a player and Tom Coventry as a player - coaching is a team sport.
Ra
Guest
Yeah bro there have been lots of changes to borders over the years since 1846 when that British clown William Hobson decided to environmentally split us in two and called us New Munster and New Ulster, essentially the North and South Islands, or better known to Maori as Te Ika a Maui (the fish of Maui) and Te Waipounamu (the home of the greenstone). Just flashing it up here for our Roarer cuzzies bro. Man its amazing how many which ways our country has been divided up over the years, and its been for geopolitical environmental cultural reasons, even tribal. Rugby has its own provincial boundaries that seem to follow old and not so old local government boundaries . A big place like Auckland has undergone a number of splits and divisions over the years, North Auckland becoming Northland, North Harbour and Counties becoming entities of their own etc etc etc, but Taranaki district merely changed from New Plymouth to Taranaki. I don't think its something to be too hung up about bro. But if you want to get pedantic about it , go to this website and give yourself a headache - kia ora bro, oh, and go the Naki (Taranaki) http://www.statoids.com/unz.html
Kuruki
Roar Guru
"I thought for the most part Pulu was poor last night" That pretty much sums it up for me. You obviously have an opinion on players and see the game you want to see. I doubt there is anybody else who watched that game that would rate Pulu as having a poor match. It was not the plan to use form players off the bench but that is exactly how it ended up. There was no recent form justification for Anscombe or Horrel to replace Robinson or Aki. And Pulu has outperformed TKB for months. It was not just the Brumbies pressure TKB has been struggling to get clean ball away from the base for awhile now, he seems to be getting caught or disrupted very regularly and that issue disappears when Pulu comes onto the paddock and i don't believe it is just the timing or stage of the game it has been happening regularly since his return from injury. I have always rated TKB i thought he would be number 2 halfback for the AB's behind Smith when he first made the side but currently he is not up to the mark.
dwayne
Guest
The final went as the Chiefs had planned, at least hold the Brumbies out for 60 mins, they tire, introduce all of the x factor talent from the bench and win the game. It's not that hard to pick. As far as the Wayne Smith/Deans debate goes at Canterbury, there was a lot of work done, in turning around Canterbury rugby. Hansen was also one of the people involved. But the main man was Wayne Smith. At the time he was the saders coach, Robbie was the then version of the ITM cup team. In Christchurch we all love Robbie but know the blueprint came from Wayne Smith and Robbie improved on that. It's no coincidence why the Chiefs are so good. Wayne Smith is the greatest rugby brain on the planet. and I'd say with his input into Rennies system, that Rennie is fast becoming the next super coach. One of the things Rennie has said is he wants to coach overseas, as he sees it as a progression to the All Blacks. Smart, smart man.
richard
Guest
I agree.But just saying,you get away with what you can.It's no different from the incessant whining about McCaw. Put it this way,if a player isn't going to the edge,and over it if necessary,for his team,then frankly he isn't doing his job.That's what makes the McCaw's and Smith's of this world the players that they are.
K.C.R.
Guest
As a Kiwi and a Chiefs fan I am stoked with the grand final win but feel that the Brumbies had a great season in making the finals, topping the OZ conference, beating the Bulls at loftus and the Lions touring team. Next season is shaping up as a great one.
Chivas
Guest
Interesting though... Considering this whole thread has been about exactly that. The Brumbies sweating on the chiefs playing and making mistakes. The Brumbies don't make plays and somehow according to David Lord they let the game slip from their grasp. The simple fact is they didn't play for it. They rather hoped the chiefs would make mistakes. The one try they did get was an intercept which was nicely fielded by Lilo with a rush defence. The Brumbies have the ability to attack and have an offensive defence, but they are all about defence. Not a winning strategy. South Africa don't consistently beat the AB's and the Brumbies won't win finals with that approach. I do think however they can win the finals and can attack. They showed glimpses of that. If they don't evolve they will be a pile of steaming rubbish. Maybe it is wishful thinking, but one season in they have performed admirably. It is the next season where they get to stamp their mark in the game. Will they do it? I'm hoping so.