‘Gutted’ Hurricanes smashed out of the blocks as ‘special kid’ leads Chiefs to Super Rugby final against Blues
Off the back of a blistering start, the Chiefs have spoiled the party in Wellington to knockout the Hurricanes and set up a mouthwatering New Zealand derby against the Blues in the 2024 Super Rugby final.
After stunning tries by Samipeni Finau and Cortez Ratima, the Chiefs scored two tries inside six minutes and led 17-0 after 15 minutes to set up a stunning 30-19 win at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Saturday evening.
While Peter Lakai hit back for the Hurricanes in the 20th minute, mistakes, including Joshua Moorby’s fumble in the process of touching down out wide which would have cut the margin to a single point with 20 minutes to run, hurt the home side’s chances of hosting this year’s final.
Daniel Rona celebrates after scoring a try with Damian McKenzie during their Super Rugby Pacific Semi Final win over the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium on June 15, 2024. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Instead, the Blues, who were denied top spot in the regular season after the Chiefs scored a late try against the Aucklanders in the final match earlier this month to deny them a bonus point win, will host the final at Eden Park next Saturday evening.
“I’m just really proud of the boys,” captain Luke Jacobson said.
“We had a really good plan throughout the week and we just came out here and we trusted it, we were accurate, maybe not fully all the time, but I’m just really proud that we came out here and executed.”
The Chiefs had many heroes, but no more than rising 21-year-old back-rower Wallace Sititi.
The number eight made the defining play in the 61st minute when he intercepted centre field from a Brett Cameron short ball and ran 50 metres.
Seconds later, the Chiefs were over for their third try via Daniel Rona and the Hurricanes’ momentum was stopped dead in its tracks.
Cortez Ratima scored the Chiefs’ second try against the Hurricanes during their semi-final win at Sky Stadium. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Sititi also managed to be in the right place and right time when he gobbled up possession from an Etene Nanai-Suturo chip kick and combined with Jacobson to send halfback Cortez Ratima in to score in the sixth minute.
“I don’t know if you’ve been watching all year, but he’s been going pretty good since he came on,” back-row partner Jacobson added. “He took it to another level, he’s a special kid and he’s got a huge future.”
Hurricanes skipper Brad Shields bemoaned the Hurricanes’ slow start and missed chances in both halves.
“It’s pretty gutting,” Shields said.
“I think early on, the first two tries the Chiefs got up, it was a bit of a shock, I suppose, and then a first last pass efforts, we left a little bit out there unfortunately and we’re just really gutted because if we look back on our season, we were extremely proud of what we’ve been able to achieve and put ourselves in a really good position, but we just couldn’t get there tonight which is tough to take.”