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– Damian McKenzie scored two tries as the Waikato Chiefs got a measure of revenge for their defeat in last year’s Super Rugby Pacific final with a 25-14 victory over the Auckland Blues at rain-soaked Eden Park on Saturday.
The blockbuster clash bucked the opening weekend trend of high-scoring matches but a bruising, high-quality contest suggested both teams will be among the competition front-runners again this season.
Flanker Dalton Papali’i barged his way over the line to give the reigning champion Blues the first try of the game just before the half hour mark after McKenzie’s penalty had given the Chiefs an early lead.
A second McKenzie penalty cut the deficit to one point but a break down the wing by Mark Tele’a set up centre AJ Lam for another Blues try to send the hosts into the break with a 14-6 lead.
The Chiefs struck first in the second half when they elected to kick for touch from a penalty and McKenzie ghosted over the line for his first try after the ensuing lineout.
The All Blacks playmaker was unable to convert his own try but the Chiefs hit the front at 18-14 with a try from centre Leroy Carter while Blues prop Josh Fusitua was in the sinbin for a high shot.
Staunch Chiefs defence kept the Blues attack in check and McKenzie slid over for his second try five minutes from time, converting from wideout to take his personal tally to 20 points and assure his side of a first win at Eden Park for five years.
“Outstanding feeling, the Blues are the benchmark, they were last year,” said McKenzie.
“I put it down to our forwards tonight, they really muscled up and met fire with fire and allowed us to score tries.”
Earlier in Suva, flanker Luke Reimer forced a handful of turnovers and two tries in a stunning second-half effort as the ACT Brumbies defied the heat and Fijian Drua to secure a 36-32 victory.
The Brumbies had rested a string of Wallabies but Billy Pollard gave them an ideal start when he smuggled the ball over the line in the fourth minute.
The home side levelled 12 minutes later through Simione Kuruvoli but the Brumbies punished Drua ill-discipline when Ollie Sapsford and Ryan Lonergan scored tries after yellow cards for Isikeli Rabitu and Vuate Karawalevu.
A pair of penalties from flyhalf Caleb Muntz kept the Fijians in touch and those points were to prove crucial as debutant winger Ponipate Loganimasi sped in to score on the left to give the hosts a 20-17 halftime lead.
Prop Rhys Van Nek restored the lead for the visitors early in the second half but the other home debutant winger, Karawalevu, twice dived over the line to put the Drua in front.
Reimer, though, crossed from close range to reduce the lead to three points with 12 minutes remaining and again five minutes later to secure a first Super Rugby win for an Australian team in Fiji.
“To be able to play six debutants and they go out and show that kind of heart at the end to claw back that deficit is credit to them,” said Brumbies skipper Ryan Longeran.
On Friday, Joseph Suaalii ended up a winner on his Super Rugby Pacific debut as hooker Siosifa Amone’s last-second try gave the New South Wales Waratahs a 37-36 victory over the Otago Highlanders.
Another of 2024’s underperformers, the Canterbury Crusaders, also got the new campaign underway with a win, beating the Wellington Hurricanes 33-25 in Christchurch on the back of a hat-trick from debutant replacement scrumhalf Kyle Preston.
Saturday’s final game of the opening weekend in Perth was another high-scoring thriller with flyhalf Ben Donaldson grabbing a try four minutes after the siren to give Western Force a 45-44 victory over Ardie Savea’s Moana Pasifika.
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