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2014 Super Rugby: Chiefs v Highlanders (Round 3)

Another good kick by Sopoaga. Disappointing that we are giving the Chiefs a chance to get those 3 points back though...

Fantastic steal by Buckman!
 
Last year the Chiefs only won one match where they were behind at half time... The final against the Brumbies.

Let's see how they deal with a bit of pressure early in the season. They've looked sharp with the ball, but once again they haven't had much of it.
 
Yeah Sopoagas looking more stable this year. Fekitoas been a good find. Treebys always been good but is looking more like a top no.12.

The whole teams looking good but as we know the Highlanders have a history of losing close games. 2nd half should be interesting..
 
Very happy with that first half performances. Our defense has been very good - we have been breached a few times, but we have scrambled very well. Importantly we have kicked our goals. We need to make sure we don't fade like we did last week versus the Blues.

Coltman has been excellent around the field, as has Joe Wheeler. This is certainly Wheelers best game for the Highlanders, and it is great to see him using his ball handling skills. Hoeata has been good again, and Evans has been good at the breakdown. Hardie has made some good runs out wide, but I'm not sure about him standing out on the wing....

Sopoaga has been excellent, as has Treeby at 12. Buckman has continued on where he left off last week with some strong defense, and got that crucial steal at the end of the half.
 
Great break by the future All Black hooker....

Another good kick by Sopoaga....

EDIT: Stanley should never kick the ball again.
 
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Important kick here for Cruden. Hope he misses :)

Liam Squire made an instant impact....

EDIT: Bloody Cruden......
 
Both halfbacks off. Two midgets come on.

I repeat: Stanley should not kick the ball...

EDIT: Game over. Close game, but the better team probably won.
 
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Jesus, unlucky Highlanders...

I'd love to see Squire start in the next match, in a couple of weeks...
 
The Chiefs were very lucky to escape with the win - the last try was a bit questionable too. Regardless, they got the 4 points and will be reasonably happy going into the bye. The Highlanders, in contrast, will be very disappointed. They had the game by the scruff of the neck at halftime, and were at one point ahead by 9 points. That being said, if at the start of the season the Highlanders could've picked to go into the bye with 6 points I'm sure they would have taken it.

For the Chiefs I thought Symons was very good in his starting debut, making a number of tackles. I'd be looking at partnering him with Retallick and having Fitzgerald coming off the bench. Latimer looked fired up too, and a bit bigger than he normally does. It's going to be another great year seeing Latimer and Cane fighting for that starting jersey. Squire made a big impact when he came on, and I think he showed enough promise to start him at the back of the scrum in the next match to see how handles it.

The backs were all good without being great. Nanai-Williams provided a lot of spark, and I thought Ngatai had one of his best games to date. Kerr-Barlow was probably my MOTM, he looked very sharp both in terms of his passing and running (though I'm ignoring that last kick of his near the end ;)).

Wheeler was good for the Highlanders, and Hardie was probably the pick of the forwards on display. He was aggressive on defence and made a number of important turnovers. Manu made a few uncharacteristic errors. In the backs Fekitoa looked dangerous once more, and I though Stanley had a reasonably good game (apart from that one mis-kick). Ben Smith looked dangerous, but didn't get many opportunities.
 

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