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The Chiefs were amazing in this romp, they seemed complacent in the first half but a few tweaks in the second led to a much more focused performance and a 43-point win.
REPORT: CHIEFS SCORE NINE TRIES AGAINST FORCE
Matt Hodgson, Force captain, resembles Alistair Cook in having to front the cameras after yet another pummelling. He tries to put on a brave face, and he does pretty well considering he’s carrying about 5 welts and several more cuts on his head.
Final score
Chiefs 53
Force 10
In the last five games between these two, the average points difference has been 8.4. Somehow, in the swirling cosmos, fate has decided that the Force will be the Chiefs‘ bogey team. Join The Roar for commentary, scores and maybe even a little bit of chat, to see if the Force can continue to upset the odds from 5:35pm AEDT.
The Force are a very Australian team, in that they’re well-organised and hard-working without being too flamboyant. Look at the cricket team, for instance: their lack of swagger holds them back in Twenty20 but keeps their composed and efficient in the Test match arena.
Against the Rebels, Hurricanes and Brumbies – especially against the Canberrans, where captain Matt Hodgson was quite confident in confronting Stephen Moore – the Perth-based side more than held their own in the grunt-side of things.
Yet, in every game their lack of flair in the backs and inability to hold their performance level beyond 60 mins (possibly because of a lack of depth) has let them down. For instance, after 43 minutes against the Hurricanes the score was 10-6, at full time it ended up 41-6.
However, the tiredness and travel factor is a big one tonight, while the Force have been in New Zealand for a week, the Chiefs are returning home after playing the Kings and the Jaguares away. The Chiefs did beat both of those teams, with victory over the Jaguares in Buenos Aires a far more impressive feat than beating the woeful Kings.
But even considering that, the quality of the Chiefs – solid bets for final contenders the last few years – is a rather massive block in the way of Force success tonight. One hopes that any hint of fatigue and/or bogeyman fear will be ruthlessly exploited by the workmanlike Force, because otherwise, sorry to say, there’s a good chance of a trouncing.
Chiefs by 15.
Join The Roar for commentary, scores and maybe even a little bit of chat, to see if the Force can continue to upset the odds from 5:35pm AEDT.
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.