The Blues broke a 21-year draught to win the Super Rugby championship at Eden Park last night but the wait goes on for the Chiefs who have made the grand finals in three of the last four years and have lost them all.
In retrospect, the Chiefs played their best game of the season in their semifinal in Wellington the weekend before when beating the Hurricanes 30-19.
They were inventive, accurate and ruthless against the most consistent team in the competition but last night, they ran into a Blues side who blew past the Drua and Brumbies in their playoffs and were peaking at just the right time with just the right game plan.
"We barely fired a shot,” head coach Clayton McMillan said. “That was disappointing for boys who put in a lot of work, disappointing for the fans who travelled up State Highway 1. To go out with a whimper was disappointing but I’m still incredibly proud of this team.”
Skipper Luke Jacobson said: “We’ve got to give credit to the Blues, they played a really good game tonight. They’ve played the same style of footy all year and the conditions probably played into their hands a bit. We weren’t able to play in the areas we wanted to and weren’t accurate enough.”
Last year, the Chiefs lost to the Crusaders at Waikato Stadium. That hurt. In 2021 they lost to the Scott Robertson’s team in Christchurch. That hurt, too. Last night they were dominated all over the field by the Blues.
For McMillan, the feelings are familiar but no easier to accept.
“We’ve got some great young men,” he said. “We’ll get better and eventually win one. There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”
With the Blues maintaining possession and playing near perfect wet-weather rugby, there was little space for the likes of Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown, Emoni Narawa and Etene Nanai-Seturo to break free.
It meant too that their promising No.8 Wallace Sititi — the 21-year-old who was outstanding in their semifinal — was too tied up in the tight stuff to operate wider with his full skillset.
"Sheer weight of possession — we were lucky to get 30% possession and a lot of it was in the wrong parts of the field," McMillan said.
"Give credit to Vern [Cotter] because he’s come here and recognised the athletes that he’s got. He flipped the script on the way the Blues have traditionally played and it’s paid huge dividends.
“The weight of possession makes it hard, especially when it’s wet and they’re getting direct because the point of the ruck is constantly changing and you need to get back onside and if you’re marginally off then they get to play on top and get another penalty. That’s classic finals footy and they played it really well.”
Cotter’s men played a simple and direct style but it’s easier said than done. While knowing the game plan is one thing, executing it through accuracy and commitment is another.
And they did it so well, with so few mistakes, in such a high-pressure environment that it begs the question about whether such a style could work for the All Blacks.
Scott Robertson will name his first squad tomorrow for next month’s two Tests against England and one against Fiji and the new game plan will be as eagerly anticipated as the members of the 32-man squad.
McMillan said: "It will be interesting to see how the All Blacks go because it’s something new, really, for New Zealand, isn’t it? We haven’t really seen a team do that. That’s probably going a little bit away from the DNA of All Black rugby. It will be interesting to see what the All Black coaches have seen from teams that have gone more direct like the Blues. And to see what can be implemented into the All Black regime.
"We know the Africans and some of the teams up north are a bit more direct. I guess the key will be to understanding whether we’ve got the athletes to play that sort of style at the international level."
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