Chiefs five-eighth Aaron Cruden couldn’t explain his mixed night with goal kicking, but he was glad to see a late conversion and penalty sail through the posts to seal a tense come-from-behind 27-22 win over the Brumbies.
While Brumbies goal kicker Christian Lealiifano did not miss all game and got a solo intercept try to score all his side’s points Cruden managed just six from nine but it was enough to secure the Chiefs back-to-back Super Rugby titles.
The All Black pivot missed an easy penalty in the 18th minute before landing three in succession to get the Chiefs back on level terms.
Another wayward penalty in the second half and a failure to convert Liam Messam’s 64th minute try left the Chiefs trailing 22-17 with 12 minutes to go.
But Cruden didn’t shirk the kicking responsibility when Robbie Robinson’s five-pointer tied the scores and that conversion, plus a final penalty, completed the comeback.
“It’s been a tricky old season to be fair,” said Cruden of his goal-kicking. “I was just stoked to see the last couple go through the posts.
“As a kicker you just have to try and kick your way through the bad times and hopefully a few go through the posts which the last couple did.”
Cruden hailed the character of the team to fight back after being put under huge pressure by the Brumbies for three-quarters of the match.
“The Brumbies really tested us in the first 60 minutes and we had our backs against the wall,” he said.
“But as a good Chiefs team does, we came out fighting and were able to get home in the end.
“It’s massive (getting successive titles). It’s a goal we set right at the start of the year. To come through the journey that we have and succeed in achieving that goal is pretty satisfying.”
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