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Chiefs player ratings vs Reds | Super Rugby Pacific quarter-finals
By Ben Smith
An opening 25-minute blitz by the Chiefs put 28 points on the board with four tries, a double to Samisoni Taukei'aho and one to each winger Emoni Narawa and Etene Nanai-Seturo, in a flawless opening start.
It was all Chiefs as the Reds were dominated in every facet of the game and took a 31-0 lead into half-time.
Two tries to Tate McDermott mounted a brief Reds' comeback but the Chiefs quickly put the game out of reach with tries to Anton Lienert-Brown and Bradley Slater.
Here's how the Chiefs' players rated in the quarter-final.
1. Aidan Ross - 7
2. Samisoni Taukei'aho - 9
3. George Dyer - 7
4. Jimmy Tupou - 6
5. Tupou Vaa'i - 9.5
6. Samipeni Finau - 7
7. Luke Jacobson - 7
8. Wallace Sititi - 9
The big No 8 was the Chiefs main carry option on the night and powered through the Reds for 74 run metres on 16 carries. Offered a nice offload to Narawa for his try, playing on the flank and punching through Reds' defenders before giving the ball on the inside. Looked powerful on every carry, giving the Chiefs attack consistent gain line. A big game from the loose forward that led the way. Off at 66.
9. Cortez Ratima - 7
10. Damian McKenzie - 8
11. Etene Nanai-Seturo - 7
12. Rameka Poihipi - 7
13. Anton Lienert-Brown - 8
14. Emoni Narawa - 7
15. Shaun Stevenson - 7.5
17. Jared Proffit - 6 - On at 48. All the front row reserves made an impact with effort in defence and carries.
Latest Comments
Ford completely took the energy out the game for us, waving his hands telling people to calm down. Just for us to die off and lose the momentum.
Bringing him on all the time to ‘close out’ games is condescending to Smith. Get Ford out and let Marcus Smith & Fin Smith run the show. The future is them so give them the keys and let them get on with it.
Go to commentsTaking Marcus Smith off was a big puzzle and probably cost England the game. However, Abs created more opportunities and scored some tries but left a lot out there through sloppy execution, not playing to the ref and no enforcement of English off-side play. The fact the game was close all through made it worth watching but it was a frustrating pectacle. English succeeded in slowing the game down and were in the refs ear which Gardner allowed. I think Ireland or France will punish the sloppy execution more than England so still much for ABs to work on.
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