The Chiefs proved their championship pedigree in Hamilton on Saturday night, with an outright romp seeing them put 85 points on Moana Pasifika.
Moana rolled with the opening Chiefs’ punches, but the hosts were unrelenting and dominated possession. Crisp handling through the backline saw Shaun Stevenson score in the eighth minute.
With the ball in hand back in Moana’s 22 shortly after the opening try, Emoni Narawa was stripped of the ball but went down injured, with a review deeming Patrick Pellegrini had made high contact that warranted a yellow card.
A penalty came from the ensuing scrum, and Wallace Sititi tapped quickly, getting his side just a metre from the Moana line. Tupou Vaa’i scored with the next pass.
Stevenson was the next to make a break down the left wing, skimming the defence before finding Cortez Ratima running a classic halfback support line and being rewarded with a try.
The next few of the Chiefs’ scoring opportunities were spoiled by Gideon Wrampling being pushed into touch, Shaun Stevenson kicking the ball out on the full and a Simon Parker knock-on.
Still, the ball remained in the Chiefs’ hands, and after a Damian McKenzie break, Quinn Tupaea stretched for the line and scored.
Just moments later, the ball was spilled by Moana and hacked ahead by Leroy Carter, who won the race to the ball just before it went dead but couldn’t ground it cleanly.
Just two minutes before halftime, Sam Slade was caught by the referee taking a swipe at the halfback’s arm while still attached to the ruck, resulting in a yellow card.
With a one-man advantage at the next scrum, McKenzie made short work of the defence. The try brought a dominant half to a close with a scoreline of 31-0.
The Chiefs picked up where they left off when the ball went loose and was snapped up by Sititi. Harlem Globetrotter-esque distribution gave Carter a chance, and the winger wouldn’t waste it this time, scoring under the posts.
Moana Pasifika, down 38-0, needed a star play and who else but Ardie Savea to deliver it, as the All Black stepped and powered his way over the line from close range.
Knowing how quickly a lead can vanish against Moana Pasifika, the Chiefs were eager to respond. Quinn Tupaea was up to the challenge, collecting Damian McKenzie’s kick-off and giving his side another scoring opportunity.
Samisoni Taukei’aho had just gotten back to his feet from a previous carry when the ball was dropped into his arms, and with George Dyer in support, the hooker was able to drive through Savea on his way to the line.
The hosts kept it rolling with a chip kick from Daniel Rona collected by Leroy Carter, who ran away to score his second.
Carter completed his hat-trick after putting in a chip and chase of his own that was collected by Cortez Ratima, who then delivered the offload to the winger. That effort pushed the lead beyond 50.
Josh Jacomb claimed the next linebreak, and some great distribution from Simon Parker opened Ratima up for his second try, with a third following shortly after on the back of a driving maul.
Five minutes remained, and the Chiefs were still firing on all cylinders. Shaun Stevenson delivered a cross-field kick that found Daniel Rona for the team’s 12th try.
A penalty try ended the game, pushing the already record win margin to 78 as the final whistle blew.
