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A team would always walk out of Sky Stadium on Saturday night with their heads down, their season in dire trouble.
In a way, that team was the Hurricanes, as the Damian McKenzie-inspired Chiefs stormed home for a 35-29 win in Wellington to snap a horrible 11-game losing streak.
Yes, the Chiefs won and celebrated it as a final. And the Hurricanes are 0-3 in 2021, in a way, after they led 26-7 with 23 minutes to go.
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Chase Tiatia of the Chiefs scores a try during their Super Rugby Aotearoa fourth round match against the Hurricanes.
Their visitors scored three attempts and 21 points in nine minutes to hit up front, before a tremendous penalty from Jordie Barrett over 50 yards put the Hurricanes in front with six minutes to go.
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Number 8 Luke Jacobson scored the winning goal after sustained forward pressure, launching himself to break the hearts of the Hurricanes on their special Mana Moana night celebrating their Maori and Pasifika influence.
Jacobson sealed it with a huge fumble as the Canes desperately tried to strike back. The eighth along with McKenzie, running back Brad Weber and second fifth eighth Quinn Tupaea were among the best of the Chiefs in a passionate and desperate display.
Hurricanes, meanwhile, were shattered. Captain Ardie Savea was squatting, the new skipper now had to rally his men who somehow let slip a winning lead and dominance on the back of a Salesi Rayasi double. And they face a trip to Dunedin for the Highlanders in just six days.
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The Chiefs celebrate a Chase Tiatia attempt in Wellington.
The Chiefs came to town facing an unwanted record: 12 straight losses to beat the Highlanders’ 11 from 2012-13.
It has been a year and two weeks since they last won. Remember it? A 51-14 walk in the park against the Waratahs in Wollongong on March 6, 2020. A week later, the Hurricanes pinched a 27-24 win at Hamilton and went the curtains.
For a game between two teams without a win, there was no braking as the Hurricanes rallied early and led 26-7 after a fun first half. They were confident and their great players stepped forward.
With Orbyn Leger making his first start in the first five, but with minimal impact, Barrett eased some of the load and was a great presence again, on offense and defense.
Barrett sparked the first attempt from 60 yards, a run that saw him pacing through space and knocking running back Luke Campbell away from the posts in his first start.
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Hurricanes’ Salesi Rayasi dives for one of his two attempts.
The Chiefs fought back almost immediately, hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho swept away an Ardie Savea tackle attempt and fed Kaleb Trask, another new man at No. 10 for 2021.
Hurricanes hooker Ricky Riccitelli, in the absence of injured duo Asafo Aumua and Dane Coles, assumed their roles and charged. He counterattacked for the Canes, breaking through and sliding down a pass from Ngani Laumape after another run fooled the Chiefs defense.
The visitors just couldn’t take a trick, even if their scrum attacked their hosts on occasion. Passes were spilled and referee Ben O’Keeffe penalized them 6-2 in the first half. Then there were more mistakes; McKenzie kicking hard and Trask throwing a cold bomb.
That brought left wing Rayasi into the game in his first start for 2021. Laumape, on a great play, hit Rayasi with a cross shot into the left corner and the wing stretched out to score.
Then, three minutes before halftime, Rayasi stepped to the line and smashed through a non-existent defense to give the Hurricanes a decent buffer at halftime.
Weber was held over the line, then early in the second half McKenzie crossed, but was penalized for a double move in the game’s television official’s intervention.
It seemed like it was never going to happen to them, then suddenly a switch was flipped and McKenzie began to impose his presence.
Chase Tiatia, replacing Trask, crossed quickly after sustained pressure in the 57th minute and there were finally smiles on the Chiefs’ faces.
Bang-bang erupted, and suddenly the game began, as McKenzie did his thing and returned a Leger bomb brilliantly, cutting and feeding Tiatia, who drove Weber away for the try of the match.
In the blink of an eye, the Canes’ lead was reduced to five going into the fourth quarter. Then when Naitoa Ah Kuoi’s blocking in his hometown scored with a rolling maul, there were 21 unanswered points in nine minutes and these winless Chiefs were finally up front with 10 to play.
TAKE A LOOK
Heads 35 (Caleb Trask, Chase Tiatia, Brad Weber, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Luke Jacobson tries; Damian McKenzie 5 with) Hurricanes 29 (Salesi Rayasi 2, Luke Campbell, Ricky Riccitelli tries; Jordie Barrett 3 with pen). HT: 7-26.
MVP points stuff: Damian McKenzie 3, Brad Weber 2, Jordie Barrett 1.
