Super Rugby Pacific wrap: Have we just seen a forerunner to the final?
Monday, 20 April 2026
Have we just seen a forerunner to the final?
That is the big question after Saturday night’s Super Rugby Pacific humdinger in Hamilton lived up to its hype and delivered a magnificent top-of-the-table tussle.
In a match which required ‘Super Point’ extra-time to split the sides, the Chiefs delighted their fans (they probably hoped for a few more than the 14,326 in attendance) with a thrilling victory over the high-flying Hurricanes that now edges them in front at the top of the table.
That is by technicality, thanks to the ‘most wins’ tiebreaker, with the sides equal on points but the Chiefs (7-2) having played an extra game than the Canes (6-2), whose two byes came in the first eight rounds.
Still, it’s a real statement that the three-time runners-up from the past three years are right up for the fight for the No 1 seeding. Had Clark Laidlaw’s team won that contest, they would have been hard to reel in, with a five-point buffer, and a game in hand, with six regular-season rounds to play, and the teams not squaring off again.
Instead, it’s now all on, with the Blues also lurking two points back, and with the Hurricanes having the tougher draw to come ‒ though with some of the other results from the weekend that is now harder to declare.
What is much clearer is that the intensity of that 85 minutes at FMG Stadium Waikato, where returning All Blacks loose forward Wallace Sititi scored the game-sealer on the back of a charged-down Damian McKenzie drop-goal attempt, was finals, even test-match-like.
In his milestone 100th match for the Chiefs, captain Luke Jacobson, sitting down and sipping a celebratory Waikato Draught for good measure, admitted he was completely gassed, all but done, when Sititi soared high for his heroics.
“It was bottom-of-the barrel-stuff, and I think that’s the most pleasing thing, we went to the bottom of the barrel and we found some more and we were able to get one over the Hurricanes and wear them down.”
That the Chiefs, with their scrum shaky, lineout wobbling and being beaten at the breakdown on a number of occasions ‒ all not helped by the late-in-the-week scratchings of forwards Reuben O’Neill, Samipeni Finau and Kaylum Boshier ‒ rallied from a 12-3 halftime deficit after they had had the wind at their backs, would have been a big confidence boost.
Despite their personnel changes seeing them revert from their 6-2 bench to a more traditional 5-3 split, the Chiefs still came up trumps in the tasty tussle of the loosies, with Sititi starring off the pine and Simon Parker sending a particularly timely reminder of his tenacious traits in completely outgunning All Black hopeful Devan Flanders.
McKenzie took on the line numerous times in outshining Ruben Love, while Leroy Carter and Kyren Taumoefolau were dangerous out wide in a back-three where Liam Coombes-Fabling played a fine hand, with Laidlaw noting the flying fullback was able to win the Chiefs an aerial battle that the Canes had had the better of in recent outings.
The Chiefs enjoyed 57% possession and with it took some 152 carries to the visitors’ 109, including making a whopping 403 to 217 post-contact metres, and six clean breaks to three.
The fact they were also able to keep the Hurricanes to a season-low 17 points would have been heartening, too, given the Canes had averaged 44 per game prior to that.
After some bad leaks in losses to the Crusaders and Brumbies, the Chiefs have now conceded only 62 in their past four games, and that is the sort of defence they will need come playoff time.
They and the Hurricanes are both certainties to be there in June, but just when and where might they meet again?
Blues nearly blow it as Joseph sees red
Blues veteran Dalton Papali’i admitted he was reluctant so say it, but said it anyway, noting in his post-match interview with Sky TV that his side essentially “gave up” in the final stages of Friday night’s in-the-end narrow win against the Highlanders at Eden Park.
After dominating proceedings, the hosts were up by 21 points with five minutes left but after letting the bonus-point slip, they almost let the win slip, too, with the Landers showing fine fight to roar back to 47-40 and then only for a knock-on by star two-try halfback (and winger) Adam Lennox to scupper their hopes of a miracle.
It made for more frustration for Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph, who, on the back of a couple of contentious dangerous-tackle calls in the previous weekend’s loss to the Brumbies, was none-to-impressed with Blues fullback Zarn Sullivan only getting a yellow card for his 33rd-minute hit on Caleb Tangitau, which sent the star winger out of the game.
“If that’s not a red card, what is a red card?,” Joseph asked, of an incident where yellow did really seem the right call by referee Jordan Way given the sudden drop in Tangitau’s body height.
“Thankfully I’m not a referee, I can’t answer that. But I’ll be asking those questions.”
Crusaders crack in Perth again
The Crusaders will be hoping this weekend’s landmark opening of their shiny new stadium can spark a turnaround in their fortunes, after the defending champs capped off a miserable tour of Australia with a 31-26 loss to the Force.
All teams will converge on Christchurch for Super Round, and all eyes will be on Rob Penney’s mob, who have just a six-day turnaround plus travel from Perth before hosting the Waratahs.
The injury-hit red and blacks, who then also had Chay Fihaki and Will Tucker as late scratchings, had flown out to a 19-0 lead, with Johnny McNicholl producing one of the more miraculous finishes you will see, in a game where the visitors racked up some 612 metres to 340, and 15 offloads to 2.
However, the Force hung tough, and with NRL recruit Zac Lomax scoring in his first start and 100-game prop Harry Johnson-Holmes celebrating in style with a 70th-minute go-ahead try, Carlo Tizzano then came up with a game-winning breakdown penalty after 22 phases of defence.
It consigned the Crusaders to their second-straight loss in Perth, a place they have now triumphed only three times in eight visits.
They now sit some eight points back from the top-three, with some big doubts over whether One New Zealand Stadium will see any playoffs action at all this year.
Drua do it against all odds
If the Force’s win over the Crusaders was an upset, it was nothing on the Fijian Drua’s 33-28 stunning of the Brumbies in Canberra just a little earlier on Saturday night.
Paying around $11 to win that clash, particularly given they had won just one of their 33 games away from home in the competition, and none of their past 26, the Drua gave their season a sudden shot in the arm, after roaring out to a 22-7 halftime lead, then holding out a home-team comeback.
The Brumbies were ultimately made to pay for a whopping 29 turnovers conceded (to 18), and they continue to be an enigma, having gone 4-0 against Kiwi teams this season, but losing four of their other five games.
The Drua’s heroics came in a week where they had announced a mutual decision that they and coach Glen Jackson would not exercise the third-year option in his contract for next season, as well as having battled plenty of adversity from the affects of Cyclone Vaianu.
“People were huddling in their homes, some of the boys had mango trees falling on their roofs, but they decided to show up at training and put in the hard work, returning captain Temo Mayanavanua told Stan Sport post-match.
“And it’s satisfying to get what we worked hard for.”
Super Rugby Pacific, Rd 10
At Eden Park, Auckland: Blues 47 (Anton Segner 2, Hoskins Sotutu, Sam Darry, Bradley Slater, Cole Forbes, Ben Ake tries; Beauden Barrett 6 con) Highlanders 40 (Adam Lennox 2, Tanielu Tele’a 2, Xavier Tito-Harris, Soane Vikena tries; Cam MIllar 5 con). HT: 19-14.
At Allianz Stadium, Sydney: Waratahs 29 (Sid Harvey 2, Triston Reilly, Isaac Kailea, Folau Fainga'a tries; Harvey 2 con) Moana Pasifika 14 (Melani Matavao 2 tries; Patrick Pellegrini 2 con). HT: 12-14.
At FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton (after extra time): Chiefs 22 (Simon Parker, Daniel Sinkinson, Wallace Sititi tries; Damian McKenzie 2 con, pen) Hurricanes 17 (Josh Moorby, Peter Lakai, Asafo Aumua tries; Ruben Love con). HT: 3-12. FT: 17-17.
At GIO Stadium, Canberra: Fijian Drua 33 (Manasa Mataele 2, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Simione Kuruvoli tries; Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula 2 con, 3 pen) Brumbies 28 (Nick Frost, Ollie Sapsford, Tane Edmed, Corey Toole tries; Ryan Lonergan 3 con, Edmed con). HT: 22-7.
At HBF Park, Perth: Force 31 (Henry Robertson 2, Zac Lomax, Dylan Pietsch, Harry Johnson-Holmes tries; Ben Donaldson 3 con) Crusaders 26 (George Bell, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Johnny McNicholl, Noath Hotham tries; Taha Kemara 2 con, Rivez Reihana con). HT: 7-19.
Points (games played): Chiefs 31 (9), Hurricanes 31 (8), Blues 29 (9), Brumbies 25 (9), Reds 22 (8), Crusaders 21 (9), Waratahs 19 (8), Fijian Drua 16 (9), Highlanders 16 (9), Force 14 (9), Moana Pasifika 4 (9).