Aaron Goile05:00, May 01 2021
Michael Bradley/Getty Images
Chiefs prop Sione Mafileo believes their stunning scrum turnaround was about the pack engaging more as a unit.
New Chiefs prop Sione Mafileo has lifted the lid on the secret to the team’s stunning scrummaging transformation, saying some of the players had been trying to do too much of their own thing rather than working as a pack. In mirroring the side’s remarkable change in fortunes with now a place in next weekend’s Super Rugby Aotearoa final secure thanks to five wins on the bounce, it was the team’s last defeat where the scrum hit rock bottom.
The Chiefs have transformed their Super Rugby Aotearoa season with four successive wins.
From pretenders to contenders, the Chiefs will be in Hamilton on Friday night, but, at the same time in some rather foreign territory. Not since their season-opener against the Highlanders have they gone into a fixture as favourites. But, some action-packed seven weeks later, here they are as just that, up against the bottom of the table Hurricanes at FMG Stadium Waikato. Having happily dined out on underdog status through the campaign to date, now comes just a little more weight of expectation, as the Chiefs push hard for their place in the Super Rugby Aotearoa final – an idea so ridiculous just a short time ago.
An onset of concussion symptoms then ruled him out of the World Cup and last year he tore a hamstring, twice, then broke his hand. Jacobson recovered to captain Waikato in last year’s Mitre 10 Cup and has been outstanding for the Chiefs under McMillan, starting every match at No 8, and has rediscovered the form which earned him his first All Blacks call-up in 2019. He played two tests off the bench against Argentina and Tonga, but his return for the final round of Super Rugby Aotearoa next weekend, when the Chiefs face the Blues at Eden Park, is uncertain and potentially harms his chances of returning to the All Blacks.
Hurricanes to play Western Force at Napier s McLean Park
18 Apr, 2021 07:09 PM
3 minutes to read
Jordie Barrett last played for the Hurricanes at McLean Park in April, 2018. Photo / File
Hawkes Bay Today
The recent travel bubble announcement between New Zealand and Australia means Western Force will square off against the Hurricanes in a Super Rugby fixture in Napier next month.
New Zealand and Australian rugby fans have been restricted to seeing domestic Super Rugby franchises do battle each weekend, so many of them will be eager to see how teams match up throughout the transtasman competition.
Napier s McLean Park host the match on Friday, May 28 at 7.05pm.
Live Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa updates: Highlanders v Hurricanes nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.