Chiefs earn home semi-final
Stephen Donald was the hero as the Chiefs secured the win they needed against the Brumbies to earn a first home Super 14 semi-final.
Last Updated: 15/05/09 12:18pm
Stephen Donald was the hero as the table-topping Chiefs secured the win they needed against the Brumbies to earn a first home Super 14 semi-final.
But it was a tight affair in wet conditions at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Friday, with the Chiefs eventually prevailing 10-7.
The result leaves the Brumbies in fourth-place and anxiously awaiting other results to see if they will qualify for the semi-finals.
With the same goal in mind, both sides did not risk anything in the opening quarter, taking a conservative approach with plenty of kicking and forward dominance.
The Chiefs had their moments with a scrum and line-out five metres from the Brumbies' line, but failed in both attempts to cross.
But having dominated territory, the Chiefs were their own worst enemy by conceding 16 turnovers in the first 40 minutes that gave the Brumbies plenty of ball to work with.
The Australians piled on the pressure at the set piece, an area the Chiefs will need to work on if they plan on making the final.
The Brumbies had an opportunity to go ahead 24 minutes into the game, but a standard penalty shot by Stirling Mortlock was pushed to the right.
Chiefs pivot Donald thought he could do better with his first penalty attempt of the night, but missed too, much to the dismay of the crowd.
Brumbies try
Finally, out of nowhere, the game sparked to life after 33 minutes. With the visitors in possession, full-back Adam Ashley-Cooper put in a stiff hand-off on Dwayne Sweeney before stabbing through a grubber for winger Francis Fainifo to give chase.
The Brumbies flyer did just that and more, slipping under a casual covering effort from opposite number Lelia Masaga to score a well-worked opportunist try.
Mortlock then converted from out wide and the Brumbies were seven points to the good.
But the home side struck back in typical fashion, releasing Masaga down the right-hand touchline and he made up for his earlier shambles by making valuable metres, before a hard hit by Mortlock stopped him in his tracks.
The Brumbies could not stop Donald, though, when he somehow managed to wrangle his way through two defenders from close range for the Chiefs opening score.
His conversion levelled the scores and at seven points apiece, the teams headed into the interval with all still to play for.
Worsening conditions
The weather got worse after the break, with the slippery conditions not helping either team's cause.
The scrums were a mess as the front rows struggled to keep a grip on engagements and an injury to Ben May robbed the hosts of their number one prop.
But the Chiefs still posed the bigger threat - in fact, the Australians struggled to find a way out of their 22, scampering back time after time to keep the home side out of the danger zone.
The Brumbies breathed a sigh of relief when returning Chiefs scrum-half Brendon Leonard charged down a Joshua Holmes box-kick which allowed Callum Bruce to pick up the loose ball for what seemed like a certain try under the posts, but he spilled the ball forward inches from the line thanks to a try-saving tackle by Ashley-Cooper.
However, the resulting five-metre scrum to the Brumbies ended in a free-kick for the Chiefs, and the free-kick then turned into a penalty and a yellow card for replacement hooker Huia Edmonds.
With just 12 minutes of the match remaining, Donald wasted little time in slamming over the three points from bang in front of the posts - a crucial score that ultimately proved the difference between the two sides.
