Chiefs halfback Cortez Ratima on how he fares in All Black race

In the penultimate round of Super Rugby Pacific on Friday the Chiefs were beaten by the Hurricanes 20-17 in Hamilton conceding 15 of the last 16 penalties.

By any measure such disciplinary issues are a disaster and perhaps reflective of a team that hasn’t learned the lessons of 2023 where they imploded in the final under the stringent whistle of Ben O’Keefe.

Chiefs halfback Cortez Ratima didn't incur the wrath of officialdom in either match but was right in the heart of the battle against the Hurricanes jousting with veteran TJ Perenara. The two are leading contenders for the All Blacks.

“I don't think I went too bad. Every week is about nailing my role and then looking for opportunities,” Ratima told RugbyPass.

“It was a tough game because it felt like we were defending three-quarters of the time, and if you give away that many penalties it makes life difficult.

“I leave it up to the leaders to deliver key messages around discipline but there is an onus on individuals making the right decisions. The margins are small, different in each game, we've got to be better.”

Few have been better than Ratima in 2024. Despite stiff competition from Xavier Roe, he’s started eight of a possible 12 matches and scored eight tries.

“The competition between all three halfbacks is healthy. We all get on but bring different styles and compete hard,” Ratima observed.

“My time at Hamilton Boys’ High School taught me hard work. We trained mornings and afternoons, too much sometimes, but it prepared me for the demands of professional rugby.”

Ratima was born and raised on a sheep and beef farm in Piopio, 23 km from Te Kuiti. His father Peter-Lee played for King Country, the same stomping ground as Dame Farah Palmer and ‘Pinetree,’ Sir Colin Meads.

Cortez is named after the famous Nike sports shoe developed by Bill Bowerman, an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. who over his career trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers.

It fits the tenacious, relentless halfback who bench presses 170kg, nearly double his body weight.

Ratima debuted for Waikato two years out of Hamilton Boys’ in 2020. In 2021 he started for Waikato in their 23-20 NPC Premiership final win against Tasman. He has played 38 games for the Mooloos, the same number with the Chiefs (28 wins).

He hopes to emulate Tawera Kerr-Barlow as another Super Rugby-winning Hamilton Boys’ All Blacks halfback.