Following the Chiefs’ 35-17 defeat to the Hurricanes, here is how we rated Clayton McMillan’s charges in the Super Rugby Pacific clash.
Chiefs player ratings v Hurricanes
15 Shaun Stevenson: A lazy tackle in the build to Bailyn Sullivan’s third try and earned him 10 minutes in the sin bin during a pivotal part of the match. Momentum was already in the Hurricanes’ favour at that put and the Chiefs couldn’t swing with a man down. He got his hands on the ball plenty but struggled to make a real impact on the match. 4
14 Emoni Narawa: Strong on defence and did ask questions of the Hurricanes‘ defence, but couldn’t break through the defence. Solid without being outstanding. 5
13 Daniel Rona: Two well-taken tries in the first half in yet another fine outing from the midfielder. He was not at fault defensively either. 8
12 Quinn Tupaea: A couple of handling errors but another strong shift in the absence of Anton Leinert-Brown. Nothing too flashy but did his job. 6
11 Leroy Carter: Starved of good opportunities with the ball in hand as the Hurricanes simply shut down the threatening winger. Worth noting that his opposing winger scored four tries, and while they weren’t all his doing, he was caught out of position on occasion. 5
10 Josh Jacomb: No lack of effort as he had over 60 touches of the ball, but just couldn’t get the attack firing well enough to cut open the Hurricanes’ defence. Kicked all three of his shots at goal but was quite clearly outplayed by his opposing pivot. The Chiefs’ missed Damian McKenzie’s spark. 5
9 Cortez Ratima: Much the same as his fly-half, as Ratima could not get into a good groove on attack. Credit must go to the ‘Canes for that, but the halfbacks do have to take responsibility too. Replaced after the hour mark. 4
The pack
8 Luke Jacobson: Never lacks effort, whether it be on defence or in attack. He was busy in both facets again today in a tidy effort albeit in defeat. 7
7 Kaylum Boshier: Had success with his carries and perhaps needed more opportunities with the ball in hand. One of the busier tacklers with Jacobson before being replaced in the 50th minute. 6
6 Samipeni Finau: Effective at the breakdown and aggressive as ever in defence. Replaced in the 66th minute after a performance where he did little wrong. 6
5 Tupou Vaa’i: Forced the error from Billy Proctor, leading to the try before half-time that put his side in a great position. He was busy around the park but did concede a few turnovers. 7
4 Josh Lord: He has been riddled with injuries, but when fit, he gives his all and did so today as he threw himself into the thick of it in defence. 6
3 George Dyer: Held his own in the scrums and made 13 tackles during his 63 minutes. He did his job effectively. 6
2 Bradley Slater: Found his jumper at the lineout and made his tackles but little to write home about outside of that. 5
1 Ollie Norris: After a standout shift last week, he was less impactful this time around. He had his performance interrupted by an HIA that he passed, but he was rather quiet. 5
Replacements: Wallace Sititi and Samisoni Taukei’aho made notable impacts, particularly with ball in hand, but the Chiefs needed their Bomb Squad to save them again, but it failed to fire as well as the Hurricanes’ bench did. The ‘Canes dominated the second half, scoring 26 unanswered points, with their bench outplaying the Chiefs’ replacements. 4
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/chiefs-player-ratings-bomb-squad-fails-to-fire-as-league-leaders-miss-damian-mckenzies-spark-in-defeat-to-hurricanes
