The Waikato Chiefs scored two first-half tries and then defended ferociously to beat the Auckland Blues 18-9 in a Super 12 rugby match at Waikato Stadium on Saturday.
Wingers Loki Crichton and Sosene Anesi scored tries in a three-minute spell midway through the first half to lift the Chiefs, winless after two rounds, to a 15-3 half-time lead over the previously unbeaten Blues.
The Chiefs then threw every ounce of effort into their defence in the second half to prevent the Blues crossing their line, holding on for the major upset of the season’s first three rounds.
The Blues were thoroughly disconcerted by the Chiefs’ physical and engulfing defence, losing pattern and combination and wasting a majority share of possession with handling errors.
The Chiefs dashed up fearlessly in defence and knocked down ball carriers to prevent Auckland exploiting the skills of players such as Carlos Spencer, Joe Rokocoko and Doug Howlett, who made his first appearance of the season.
Auckland lost two props to injury and the teams were forced to resort after only 34 minutes to depowered scrums, which blunted one of the Blues principal weapons.
They suffered further from a lack of combination in loose play where forwards attacked in ones and two but failed to make a unified effort to crack the defensive wall.
”We’ve got to hand it to the Chiefs, they played well,” said Blues captain Xavier Rush. ”They started with a hiss and a roar, got out to a lead and then defended really well. We made a lot of mistakes but that had a lot to do with the pressure they applied.”
Former All Black halfback Byron Kelleher led Waikato’s spirited effort with his outstanding performance around the base of scrums.
He was well supported by the tackling of Waikato’s tight forwards and the durability of their midfield backs.
”It was great to get the points but that was nothing to get carried away with,” said Chiefs captain Jono Gibbes.
”We needed the win so we’re rapt with that.” — Sapa-AP
Scores:
Waikato 18 (Loki Crichton, Sosene Anesi tries; David Hill conversion, 2 penalties)
Auckland 9 (Luke McAlister 3 penalties).