Chiefs hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho to miss Super Rugby grand final
Sunday, 16 June 2024
Injury to hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho sours Chiefs’ semifinal win.
The All Black suffered a lower leg injury in the first half of their 30-19 win over the Hurricanes.
Taukei'aho is expected to miss next Saturday’s final against the Blues.
The Chiefs will be without one of their key All Blacks when they line up against the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific final.
Hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho is expected to miss next Saturday’s decider at Eden Park after suffering a lower leg injury in their semifinal win over the Hurricanes.
The injury took the shine off the stunning victory as the Chiefs hung on to claim a dramatic 30-19 win after scoring two tries inside the first six minutes and losing two players to yellow cards.
Taukei'aho hurt himself while making a tackle as the Hurricanes were hot on attack midway through the first half, desperately searching for a way back into the game after finding themselves 17-0 down.
The Hurricanes’ first try came as Taukei'aho limped back onto defence.
Peter Lakai sold a dummy and breezed past the injured frontrower, who headed straight to the sidelines for treatment after failing to make the tackle.
Taukei'aho has been capped 30 times by the All Blacks since his debut in 2021.
“It’s pretty bad. We might be looking for another hooker. It’s either a calf or an Achilles. I don’t think it’s real [serious] but something went there,” Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said on Saturday night.
“He was in position to make the tackle and just walked off the field so that is probably an indication that he wasn’t great.”
Taukei'aho’s injury was compounded further when his replacement, Bradley Slater required a head injury assessment, leaving the Chiefs to see out the game without a specialist hooker on the field.
“Brad Slater came on, got a knee injury and needed an HIA. He was in the wars but he managed to soldier on until he got made to go off and we finished with a halfback or a second-five throwing the ball in so there was a fair bit of collateral damage out of this game.”
Tyrone Thompson is the other hooker in the Chiefs squad but McMillan said he would likely have to call in additional cover for the final, which could mean bringing in a player from Hamilton club rugby.
“We’ve had the benefit of having an extra guy in as part of the wider training squad but we haven’t seen him for a couple of weeks.
“They’re likely to come from club rugby somewhere back into the fold and play a big game.
“You work all season to try and plan for moments like this when someone has to step up. It might be on the biggest stage but you just pick them.”
Chiefs fullback Shaun Stevenson was a late withdrawal for the semifinal after struggling with a hamstring complaint that saw him replaced early in their quarterfinal win over the Reds.
McMillan said Stevenson had trained all week but he sacrificed himself in the best interests of the team after fearing he would leave the Chiefs exposed if he re-injured his hamstring.
McMillan said it was a brave call to sit out such a big occasion but he was hopeful Stevenson would come back into contention for the final.
“Given the magnitude of the game he didn’t want to compromise the team knowing the back three were going to work extremely hard.
“If he couldn’t give his best, he didn’t want to be the guy who went out there and blew it in the first 10 minutes and we were under the pump.
“It was a massive call from him but the saving grace is we get another week.”