Chiefs' blitz seals victory over Blues
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Two quick tries in the first half and the steady boot of young Damian McKenzie saw the Chiefs sink the Blues 23-18 at home in Auckland on Saturday.
The Chiefs made a flying start as they profited from opposition mistakes to score the game's two tries on Saturday at QBE Stadium.
But the home side kept nibbling away as flyhalf Ihaha West banged over a succession of penalties.
His last with nine minutes to go pulled the Blues to within striking distance, but the Chiefs were able to wind down the clock and stretch their winning streak over their neighbours to eight matches.
West had an intriguing match-up with another young flyhalf, 19-year-old debutant Damian McKenzie, who was in for rested All Black Aaron Cruden.
McKenzie showed a willingness to take the line on, even if he did get a crunching hit on one occasion.
He also landed five kicks from seven attempts, two of them from long range.
Centre Sonny Bill Williams, on his return to the Chiefs after two seasons in the NRL, played a key role in both tries.
From a scrum in the 11th minute, quick hands by Williams and fullback Tom Marshall had the ball out to winger James Lowe, who eluded the cover defence to dot down.
Four minutes later, Williams pulled down an uncontested midfield bomb and offloaded to winger Bryce Heem, and the former New Zealand Sevens speedster scored in his Super Rugby debut.
The Blues' only response in the first half was three West penalties but it kept them in touch at just 20-9 down at halftime.
The home side had a great opportunity to make a big dent in the deficit early in the second half when Chiefs skipper Matt Symons was sin-binned for infringing at the breakdown.
However, they couldn't take advantage, the sides swapping penalties during the lock's absence.
The Chiefs host the Brumbies in New Plymouth on Friday, while the Blues play the first of two matches in South Africa when they face the Stormers later in the weekend.
Man of the Match: Sonny Bill Williams was fantastic on his return to Rugby Union, offloading out the back like only he can. Steven Luatua looked hungry to earn back an All Blacks jersey in this World Cup year, but the biggest standout was young Chiefs flyhalf Damian McKenzie – a phenomenal talent.
Scorers:
For the Blues:
Pens: West 6
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Lowe, Heem
Cons: McKenzie 2
Pens: McKenzie 3
Yellow Card: Matt Symons (Chiefs, 43 mins – repeated infringements, cynical play at the breakdown)
Teams:
Blues: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Charles Piutau, 13 George Moala/Hamish Northcott, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Jerome Kaino (captain), 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Angus Ta'avao, 2 James Parsons, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacments: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Akira Ioane, 20 Luke Braid, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 Hamish Northcott/Ben Lam.
Chiefs: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Tim Nanai-Williams, 13 Charlie Ngatai, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 James Lowe, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Johan Bardoul, 5 Michael Fitzgerald, 4 Matt Symons (captain), 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Replacments: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Michael Allardice, 20 Tevita Koloamatangi, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Marty McKenzie, 23 Bryce Heem.
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand), Kane McBride (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
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