Sickening Wallace Sititi blow sours Chiefs’ Super Rugby Pacific qualifying final win over Reds

Sunday, 7 June 2026

At FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton: Chiefs 46 (Kyren Taumoefolau tries 7min, 40min, Samisoni Taukei’aho try 19min, Damian McKenzie tries 47min, 65min, Isaac Hutchinson try 79min; McKenzie 5 con, 2 pen) Reds 24 (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto try 6min, Aidan Ross try 27min, Matt Faessler try 69min; Carter Gordon 3 con, pen). HT: 22-17.

Yellow cards: Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (Reds) 18min, Kyle Brown (Chiefs) 32min

All Blacks star Wallace Sititi is “at home and feeling good” following his sickening concussion in the Chiefs’ Super Rugby Pacific qualifying final win over the Reds in Hamilton on Saturday night.

Jono Gibbes’ side set up a blockbuster home semifinal against the Crusaders, but their 46-24 dispatching of the Reds came at a major cost, when Sititi, after a typically-hard charge, was left laying on the turf unconscious and shaking uncontrollably in the 18th minute.

They were harrowing scenes for the 11,787 at a rain-soaked FMG Stadium Waikato, as medics rushed from all corners to attend to the 23-year-old, who a few minutes later was surprisingly allowed to rise to his feet, still looking completely out of it, before perching on the medicab and subsequently being taken to hospital.

Reds lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto was yellow-carded for the shoulder-to-head tackle, but on TMO review it was not upgraded to red, with referee James Doleman explaining Sititi had lowered into the contact, as well as some subsequent freak friendly-fire from Chiefs prop Sione Ahio actually being identified as where the knockout blow occurred.

Gibbes and captain Luke Jacobson, at the post-match press conference, acknowledged the incident was up there with the scariest moments they had ever witnessed on a footy field, with Gibbes revealing Sititi was by that stage “sitting up and a lot better than what we saw coming off”.

The Chiefs then issued the following update on Sititi’s condition Sunday morning:

“He is at home and feeling good. He wants to thank everyone for their love and support. Scans at Waikato Hospital did not reveal any issues and Wallace will be assessed and cared for through the concussion protocols.”

Sititi, a certainty to make Dave Rennie’s 34-man Nations Championship squad on June 22, will be on a mandatory 12-day stand-down from playing, so potentially could feature in the final if the Chiefs make it, but time will tell just when he is mandated to make it back.

His Chiefs team-mates will face the Crusaders next Friday night, in a mouth-watering final re-match after the defending champs thumped the Blues 52-31 in Christchurch earlier in the evening, which will see the Blues, as the highest-ranked ‘lucky losers’ face the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday night, in what will be an historic all-Kiwi final-four lineup.

After the Hurricanes demolished the Brumbies 66-12 in Wellington on Friday night, the Australian losing streak of playoff games in New Zealand was extended to 23-0 after the Reds were handed a fifth-straight week-one playoffs exit, and for the third time in Hamilton, where they haven’t won since 2013.

After the Canes did the business, the Chiefs knew they were safe into the semis, but would have been highly motivated to ensure home advantage, something they were afforded last year after their shock loss to the Blues, but not this year under the revamped finals format.

They had beaten the Reds 31-21 in a tough encounter in Brisbane a month ago, and while the Queenslanders showed plenty of fight in captain Fraser McReight’s 100th game, they were ultimately blown away in a six-tries-to-three blitz, where Kyren Taumoefolau and Damian McKenzie bagged doubles, for what was their 12th win on the trot against Aussie sides in Hamilton.

Winger Liam Coombes-Fabling (calf) was a late out for the hosts, unable to make it through the warm-up, after fellow flyer Leroy Carter had been scratched from the bench earlier in the week, in what was meant to be his comeback game from a hamstring injury.

But the home side, with a host of All Blacks injected back in after being rested in the last round of the regular season, still had too much class when they went wide, as Taumoefolau proved a threat in conjunction with young fullback Isaac Hutchinson, who notched a game-high 122 metres, on a night where halfback Cortez Ratima was also back to his running threat.

That was all, of course, set up by a powerful forwards unit, who worked well tight in the tough and slippery conditions, with Taumoefolau even doing his best impression of a low-number with his barge-over second try on the stroke of halftime, which gave the Chiefs a 22-17 lead at the break, just after the Reds had got their noses in front.

Then when McKenzie looked set to slot a gift three points early in the second half but instead sneakily tapped and dived over the line, there was a sense of inevitability about the result.

Semifinals draw

Friday, 7.05pm: Chiefs v Crusaders, FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton

Saturday, 7.05pm: Hurricanes v Blues, Hnry Stadium, Wellington