THE Chiefs maintained their unbeaten start to the season as they overturned a nine-point half-time deficit to beat the Hurricanes 33-17 to reclaim top spot.
It was an outrageous start from the Chiefs as centre Daniel Rona latched onto Emoni Narawa’s deft grubber to score and round off a swift counter-attacking move.
But the lead was shortlived as Canes flanker Devan Flanders barrelled over the line three minutes later after a series of sharp offloads.
Jordie Barrett and Damian McKenzie traded penalties before scrumhalf Cam Roigard crossed for his sixth try of the season to give the Canes a 17-8 half-time lead.
But the Chiefs shifted gears in the second half. Pita Gus Sowakula powered over the line to reduce the deficit before McKenzie’s penalty gave the Chiefs the lead.
Scrum-half Cortez Ratima then darted over from the back of a scrum before McKenzie’s try capped off a ruthless second-half showing.
Clayton McMillan’s side now have seven straight wins to start the season and are the only unbeaten side in 2023.
“It’s not easy to win down here, and the Hurricanes have had a hell of a start,” Chiefs co-captain Brad Weber said. “We knew it was going to be an arm wrestle, we just had to stay in it. I told the boys just to trust it and it would all start coming, and sure enough, it did.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 16, 2023 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 16, 2023 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Riley: We believe we can make top four
SAM Riley is bullish about Quins prospects of stashing some silverware in the Twickenham Stoop cabinet and confirms the Londoners’ sights are fixed on all targets.
This Italian squad are good - but not quite their best side
HAVING reported on Italy since the early 1990s, I wouldn’t hesitate to nominate the current crop as the strongest all-round Azzurri squad in modern history … but I’m not sure yet whether they are the best Italy side ever.
Smith has diamonds on the soles of his shoes
FIN Smith confirmed that he is a big match player to the soles of his boots when he banged over the 50m penalty ten minutes from time which eventually wrestled the Calcutta Cup from Scotland’s grip for the first time in four years.
Wall times it perfectly to snatch it at the death
EXETER lock Dorothy Wall dotted down amid a bundle of bodies to break the deadlock in the final play and give Chiefs an end of season victory at Welford Road.
Hardy is getting back to his best
AFTER going through a challenging spell in his career, Kieran Hardy is now enjoying his rugby again and playing with a smile on his face.
Start off with the 'new' and finish with the old
I FIND it hard to understand why there are now so many breaks in the Six Nations competition as after just having a week off we now face another break extending the competition from the February 1 to March 15.
Northampton get it right this time
NORTHAMPTON put their finals day ghosts behind them to win their first Premiership U18 Academy final since 2014.
It's Sale at a canter as late scores clinch win
SALE got the better of their near-table rivals Birmingham Moseley with a decisive win under the lights at Heywood Road.
This brotherhood of mates is what keeps us together
THAT was an awesome performance from the boys. We were talking all week about putting in an 80-minute display and I definitely felt we did that.
French stars need to get on the same page
HOW will France respond in Rome after losing to England? I don’t believe that French supporters will be feeling that charitable towards their own team after their defeat at Twickenham, and will want to see the record set straight against Italy this afternoon.
