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.
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Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu and Blues wing, midfield back Rieko Ioane on the team s 29-6 loss to the Crusaders.
Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu and Blues wing, midfield back Rieko Ioane on the team s 29-6 loss to the Crusaders.
Multimedia Sport Journalist
Saturday night s regular season finale against the Blues is taking a back seat for the Chiefs as they keep one eye on the present and one on the approaching Super Rugby Aotearoa final.
Coach Clayton McMillan has brought 15 new faces into the matchday 23 that will take the field at Eden Park. First-five Bryn Gatland and number eight Pita Gus Sowakula are the only players that remain from the starting side that beat the Hurricanes a week ago.
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Damian McKenzie celebrates the Chiefs win over the Hurricanes. Photosport
Look, I m the biggest Damian McKenzie fan out.
The little bloke deserves all the accolades he gets, after kicking another match winning goal for the Chiefs in Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa. He s a gem, although his true range of attacking gifts appear stifled by modern rugby s defensive blanket, leaving him as the plucky, undersized kick receiver.
But what about the real star of the Chiefs gripping win over the Hurricanes - the player who created the penalty?
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.