What a match

We wondered yesterday whether the Chiefs vs Crusaders Super Rugby semi-final would deliver on the pre-match hype. It did, and more.

The Chiefs will host the final next week in Hamilton where they will take on the Brumbies, who upset the Bulls in Pretoria. That should be another epic match, but the Chiefs cannot afford to have lapses such as they did last night.

The home side started well enough, but they let the Crusaders dominate in the latter part of the first half, and the red-and-blacks led by 9-3 at the break. Dave Rennie must have ripped into the Chiefs at the break, because they were a different side in the first part of the second half scoring two tries to take a 20-9 lead. The Crusaders replied with a superb Israel Dagg solo try, and a late penalty goal by Dan Carter closed the margin to one point.

The Chiefs defended stoutly in the closing stages as the Crusaders threw everything at them. A Carter drop-kick sailed wide, then the Chiefs won a turnover on the hooter, kicked the ball out and celebrated.

It wasn't perfect rugby, but the match was played with a test match intensity. It was the kind of match where it is unfair to single out individuals, although Lelia Masaga's barnstorming try early in the second half busted the match open and was a critical turning point in the match.

So the Chiefs players can rest in their own beds this week while the Brumbies players fly back from South Africa. We know that they are accustomed to it these days, but the return trip from west to east somehow always seems harder to recover from than the outbound leg to South Africa. That gives the Chiefs a distinct advantage.

Here's hoping that next week's final again lives up to the billing, and that the Chiefs can go back to back and win their second Super Rugby title.