By Louis Anderson-Rich
There can be only one and after 80 minutes tonight it’s going to either be the Chiefs or the Sharks.
The match ups are huge… and most are saying this one is too tight to call, or answer the question of who will be crowned Super Rugby Champions for 2012.
Refresh your browser occasionally as to not miss any of the action. We’ll warn you with VIDEO COMING when we’re about to add video highlights and VIDEO UP when it’s read to be viewed.
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LIVE COMMENTARY… Chiefs 37 – 6 Sharks
80 Min: There goes the siren and the Chiefs are the Super Rugby 2012 champions! What a finish to a fantastic season!
78 Min: Chiefs rubbing salt in the wounds now after some more pressure eventually saw SBW involved twice in a move where he initially made the break, then got back in the line to recieve a pass that saw him fly under the posts, over the line, and run in to the crowd. TRY! VIDEO UP
75 Min: Pressure really not letting up from the Chiefs, they have a scrum on the Sharks 22…can they get another to really top it off? Knock on from Meyer Bosman right out in front of the posts after the Sharks had won it back…they just cannot get a break.
73 Min: Messam busting into the clear from the restart…he’s made it up over the halfway line! Offloads brilliantly to Sam Cane who offloads again to Tikoirotuma…over on the right side they Chiefs have gone from one 22 to the other…but the Sharks do well and turn it over and Viljoen eventually kicks the ball into touch.
71 Min: Cruden will kick this penalty…and over it goes! It’s a blowout!
70 Min: And the Chiefs have decided to go for the lineout it really is indicative of their drive and confidence…Chiefs 5 out, Taumololo looking for his 10th try of the season…Sharks penalised for having hands in the ruck.
69 Min: McLeod with a terrible pass off the back of the Sharks scrum, sums up their night really, Brendan Leonard is up very quickly on him, gets the turn over and now the Chiefs with the ball on the Sharks 22…SBW in some space but he’s cut down by Bosman…Referee Steve Walsh brings it back for the initial Sharks offside though.
68 Min: Attack comes to nothing though as the Chiefs knock it on…
67 Min: Sharks pressing for the line again after that mistake from Kerr-Barlow…McLeod goes to Jean Deysel who tries to go but can’t make any ground…McLeod with a chip over top taken well by Tikoirotuma…Sharks have gotten it back but knocked it on chance for the Chiefs here as Cruden goes quickly to Masaga, he’s made it up over the halfway line…
65 Min: Sharks kick ahead and have a lineout on the Chiefs 22…they win the lineout and now look to work it up with the forwards…Ludik gets the ball and goes spinning and turning into the tackle, somehow loses it Chiefs turn it over and Kerr-Barlow hoofs it away down the field which has gone out on the full…
64 Min: Bit of a stoppage in play as the Sharks make a few changes, Pieterson has come off for Meyer Bosman…big change that one…Chiefs with a scrum as Kerr-Barlow fires it to Cruden who kicks over the top straight into the arms of Lambie who meets the shoulder of SBW! May have forgotten what code he was playing there…penalty to the Sharks.
62 Min: Cruden adds the extras and can there really be any way back for the Sharks now?
61 Min: Lambie snaps up another chip kick over the top from Cruden…now McLeod to Michalak who throws a pass over to Pieterson who gets crunched by SBW, ball bobbles out to Masaga! He races away down the right side, he beats one! Then another another! And over he goes! TRY! VIDEO UP
60 Min: McLeaod gets the ball off the back of the scrum to Lambie…but they just can’t get enough passes together and again the move breaks down under Chiefs pressure.
59 Min: Few changes for the Chiefs, Sam Cane on for Kane Thompson…big night for the youngster who has had an exceptional season…
58 Min: Scrum strong from the Chiefs and the ball goes out to Cruden who drops the ball for Nanai-Williams to run on to…but Kerr-Barlow loses focus and knocks the ball on. Scrum to the Sharks.
57 Min: They win the scrum and start a move over on the left side but Robinson is up quickly with a great tackle and Louis Ludik eventually loses the ball forward. Scrum for the Chiefs on the Sharks 22…
56 Min: Sharks with a scrum just behind halfway, can key man Pieterson begin to fire…
53 Min: Chiefs win another penalty and Cruden will kick for goal to reinstate that 17 point buffer…but he can’t put it over…
52 Min: Michalak’s penalty is converted. VIDEO OF TAMEIFUNA HIT NOW UP
51 Min: Balls been turned over by Thompson…Little chip kick from Cruden 5 metres from his own line? Whats he doing? Sharks get up for that ball and win a penalty from the ensuing ruck. LATEST VIDEO OF TRY UP
49 Min: McLeod with a box kick down the sideline, fielded brilliantly by Nanai-Williams who goes on a decent run…Balls been turned over by the Sharks and they have a chance to counter… Michalak jabs a little kick through, Robinson there to tidy, but he’s been caught out! Sharks with it back, they’re on the Chiefs 22…Mvovo looks to jink and jive his way through but doesn’t go anywhere…
48 Min: Big hit from Tameifuna on Ryan Kankowski and that is far too high! Sharks retain the ball though…now it’s been turned over though and Kerr-Barlow puts a cheeky chip over the top! Goes into touch.
47 Min: Cruden adds the 2 from right out in front.
46 Min: Chiefs scrum on the five metre line…Kane Thompson off the back and he goes over! TRY! VIDEO UP
44 Min: Sharks on their line as Freddie Michalak goes to clear, knocked down by Clarke! Ball goes dead though as hearts flutter around the stadium.
43 Min: Freddie Michalak plugs the ball away downfield into the arms of Tikoirotuma who gives it to Cruden who offloads to an oncoming Robinson who bursts through the line! He’s made it into the Sharks 22! Tackle finally made by Marcell Coetzee…Cruden though with a short pass to Ben Tameifuna who goes through the line! Pick and go knocked on by Nanai-Williams…
41 Min: Aaron Cruden gets the second half back underway! And the Chiefs have stolen it back straight away….a Chiefs backline move breaks down though and the Sharks with a chance to counter? Ref goes back to the knock on, Sharks scrum.
So at halftime John Plumtree knows his side has to tidy up, particularly from behind if they want any chance of getting back into this game…
Chiefs’ coach Dave Rennie was mostly happy with boys at the break but wanted a lift in intensity, worried that the slow start to the match would be emulated after the break. But if they raised the bar from the start of the match and continued it for the remainder that the Chiefs had “a good show to clean this up”. He also wanted his side to play smart rugby, putting more kicks in behind the Sharks’ wingers.
40 Min: Sirens gone for halftime…Chiefs fling it out wide quickly, Kerr-Barlow to Cruden big pass to Robinson on the right flank and he bounds ahead! Good tackle from Louis Ludik though puts him into touch and that’s halftime!
39 Min: Very weak lineout from the Sharks…Chiefs with a last chance to finish the half…advantage not given though and the Chiefs will now have a scrum from the original knock-on on the Sharks 22…
37 Min: 50 metre kick from the touchline for Cruden but no wind at the moment…not struck well and it goes wide and dead.
36 Min: Lineout a little messy, Messam there to tidy up, he’s forced across field…now Kerr-Barlow to Cruden who gives it to Robinson who goes on a strong run…Cruden tries a low kick ahead but it’s come back off a Sharks player, Chiefs do well to scramble back…Sona Taumololo with the ball on the wing, he’s a prop! And he steps a player! Finally goes down and the Chiefs win a penalty in a kickable position.
35 Min: Lambie with a clearing kick, Chiefs with a lineout just over halfway.
31 Min: Cruden with another chance at goal after the Sharks hooker Bismarck du Plessis gives a shove to Schwalger…the kick goes over.
30 Min: Chiefs win the lineout against the throw…Chiefs on the halfweay line as Tanerau Latimer battles his way through, now infield to Clarke who gives it to Cruden, Sharks in a bit of trouble as the ball is played fast….but a penalty is conceded by the Chiefs for obstruction.
29 Min: Sharks halfback Charl McLeod with a box kick taken well by Tikoirotuma who goes on a neat run…now Cruden throws a no-look pass to Robinson who isn’t on the same wavelength…Sharks eventually put the ball into touch off a Chiefs player, so Sharks lineout on halfway.
27 Min: Sharks lineout on Chiefs 22…du Plessis finds Kankowski again…Chiefs defence holding up brilliantly though, the Sharks aren’t making much progress…although Jordaan again looks dangerous…But Chiefs turn it over once again and Cruden finds a big gap with his kick which bounces into touch.
25 Min: Sharks with some decent possession now…Paul Jordaan has made a break down the right side! Tikoirotuma makes a crunching tackle on him though! Sharks retain the ball though, they’re now five metres out…Chiefs turn it over and clear it from danger though, great defence. VIDEO UP
24 Min: Cruden chooses to kick at goal…and nails it.
23 Min: Chiefs win the lineout and start a maul, ‘Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs’ the Hamilton crowd chant, they’ve pushed 10 metres! Cross field kick from Cruden now! Nanai-Williams is there! So close to picking that up but it goes dead so we will come back for a Chiefs kick penalty.
22 Min: Lambie’s restart is low and captain Craig Clarke is there to field it well…Chiefs with another sniff of a chance…Sharks can’t get in a foot in the match as the Chiefs fumble the ball but win it back, out to Cruden who kicks over the top for Tikoirotuma…Pieterson has to bput that into touch.
20 Min: Cruden adds the extras.
19 Min: Cruden’s turn to put in a dangerous kick, Cruden chases his own kick and Lambie comes up to claim it but Cruden crashes into him and the Chiefs have it back…now SBW with a break! Offloads to Robinson! Chiefs work the right hand side with numbers…but they switch it, sending it back over to the left and the pass comes to Nanai-Williams! He’s got four to beat, goes through 2, holds off the other 2 and crashes over the line! TRY! VIDEO UP
18 Min: Solid scrum, which is nice to see, comes out to Ludik who kicks away down field….Robinson in reply with a big centre field bomb…Lambie with a dangerous little chip over the top of the Chiefs defence, Mvovo is looking to run onto it from down the left side…dribbles into touch though.
16 Min: Territory split so far while possession is 71% to the Chiefs….Chiefs on the Sharks 22…and the boys from Durban are ferocious in the ruck as they turn it over…Pieterson with an average kick though but the ref pulls it back for the initial penalty to the Sharks.
15 Min: No way through for the Chiefs…but now it’s the try-scoring machine Arizona Taumololo who breaks a tackle! Offloads to Messam who has three on the overlap! Mvovo knocks the Messam’s pass down though and it’s a Chiefs scrum…
14 Min: Kerr-Barlow to Cruden who weaves, jinks, jives but is tackled…Chiefs lose it in the ruck but then steam over the top to win it back…Sharks are flirting dangerously with offside at the moment they’re coming up incredibly fast…
13 Min: Nanai-Williams fields a long kick down field, he beats the first two and puts the Chiefs into a good attacking position…quick ball from the Chiefs sees Schwalger go up through the centre…Sharks have managed to slow the ball down now…
12 Min: Mahonri Schwalger throws it not straight, let up for the Sharks.
11 Min: Ryan Kankowski takes the lineout well, Sharks begin their backline move…They don’t make any ground and Lwazi Mvovo gets floored by a Horrell tackle and knocks it on. Chiefs scrum. Kerr-Barlow with a kick from the scrum, Lambie fields and kicks it back down…and it goes out on the full! Chiefs lineout on the 22…
10 Min: Kerr-Barlow with a disappointing kick that drifts into touch on the full. Sharks appearing to remain the calmer of the two teams in these opening exchanges.
9 Min: Chiefs caught on attack as a pass to Sonny-Bill Williams is almost intercepted by JP Pieterson, dangerous times for the Chiefs. VIDEO UP OF GREAT KICK TO CORNER BY PIETERSON, CHIEFS INFRINGEMENT AND FIRST POINTS OF GAME.
7 Mins: Freddie Michalak puts the first points on the board.
6 Min: Sharks win the lineout. Working it up five metres out, they keep it tight with the forwards….Chiefs defence scrambling well, Liam Messam with a great tackle fast off the line…Chiefs turnover, nope they concede a penalty and the Sharks have the first chance to put points on the board.
5 Min: JP Pieterson puts in a wonderful kick into the right corner, as it kisses the flag over the touchline, Sharks with a dangerous linout.
4 Min: Chiefs with a strong lineout and a decent back line move, Andrew Horrell has skipped away from one, and another, Chiefs 12 metres out…Sharks hold up well though and The Chiefs concede a penalty.
3 Min: First scrum of the match for the Chiefs…Tawera Kerr-Barlow feeds, out to Aaron Cruden who gives it to Robbie Robinson with a weighted kick, Nanai-Williams in pursuit down the right…Sharks get to it first and usher it out. VIDEO UP
2 Min: Sharks with an important turnover just over their halfway line…But they give away a penalty and it is Chiefs ball.
1 Min: The Sharks get the 2012 Super Rugby final underway! Craig Clarke with a tidy take and it goes to Cruden who kicks high and early…Chiefs defence up fast and hard on the Sharks fullback Patrick Lambie…
The Chiefs have burst out on to the field to a rapturous response in Hamilton! There’s fireworks, there’s smoke machines, there is Queen playing, excellent!
The Sharks are out, du Plessis playing his 100th Super Rugby match…
Neither team has won a Super Rugby final but they have been involved in a few, so either way we will see a new team join the Super Rugby champion ranks…
The rain is slowly getting heavier…but we are moments away now from the first ever Super Rugby final hosted at Waikato Stadium!
Chiefs fans are streaming in by their thousands for this sold out game. One plucky fan is predicting a Chiefs win by 20…
Just a wee heads up an hour out from kick off... rain is falling in the Waikato. How will that affect things? Some cunning tactical kicking from Cruden and the likes may be in order - especially early on in the match.
Kick off is not far away so in the meantime watch highlights as the Chiefs beat the Crusaders in the semifinal.
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Teams
Chiefs: 1-Sona Taumalolo, 2-Mahonri Schwalger, 3-Ben Tameifuna, 4-Craig Clarke (c), 5-Brodie Retallick, 6-Liam Messam, 7-Tanerau Latimer, 8-Kane Thompson, 9-Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 10- Aaron Cruden, 11-Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12-Sonny Bill Williams, 13-Andrew Horrell, 14-Tim Nanai-Williams, 15-Robbie Robinson.
Reserves: 16-Hika Elliot, 17- Ben Afeaki, 18-Michael Fitzgerald, 19-Sam Cane, 20-Brendon Leonard, 21-Jackson Willison, 22-Lelia Masaga.
Sharks: 1-Tendai Mtawarira, 2-Bismarck du Plessis, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 4-Willem Alberts, 5- Anton Bresler, 6-Keegan Daniel(c), 7-Marcell Coetzee, 8-Ryan Kankowski, 9-Charl McLeod, 10-Frederic Michalak, 11-Lwazi Mvovo, 12-Paul Jordaan, 13-JP Pietersen, 14-Louis Ludik, 15- Patrick Lambie
Reserves: 16-Craig Burden, 17-Wiehahn Herbst, 18-Steven Sykes, 19-Jacques Botes, 20-Jean Deysel, 21-Meyer Bosman, 22-Riaan Viljoen
Pregame banter
After a season of almost unprecedented achievement, the Hamilton-based Chiefs and Durban-based Sharks face one last match to determine which makes history by winning its first Super Rugby title.
The winner of tonight’s decider in Hamilton at Waikato Stadium - the first final to be staged in the city - will become only the sixth team to win the southern hemisphere in its 17-year history.
The Sharks have been to the final on three previous occasions, in the first year of the championship in 1996 when they were beaten 45-21 by the Blues, in 2001 when they lost 36-6 to the Brumbies and in 2007, a heart-breaking 20-19 loss to the Bulls.
The Chiefs have reached only one final, in 2009, a 61-17 loss to the Bulls in Pretoria.
Both teams have risen above rankings and expectations to reach this season's final, disposing of more fancied rivals along the way. The Chiefs, after winning the New Zealand conference, beat the seven-time champion the Crusaders 20-17 in last weekend's semifinals to win the right to host the final.
The Sharks, who were outside the top-six playoffs zone with only weeks remaining in the regular season, finished impressively.
They beat both the first-placed Stormers and three-time champion Bulls to gain the quarterfinals in which they beat the defending champion Reds, then progressed to the semifinals in which they beat the Stormers for a second time.
But to achieve that feat, they have had to face a punishing travel schedule.
The Sharks flew 11,000 kilometres from Durban to Brisbane for their quarterfinal, a further 11,000 kilometres from Brisbane to Cape Town for their semifinal and another 11,000 kilometres from Durban to Hamilton for the final, breaking their trip in Sydney.
The Chiefs, in contrast, have a strong home advantage. They have accumulated support throughout the season, winning 12 of 16 regular season games to finish atop the New Zealand conference and in second place overall behind the Stormers.
For the latter part of the season, the intimate, 25,000-seat Waikato
Stadium has been full for their home matches as it will be tonight, after tickets for the final sold out within hours of going on sale.
Their task, and that of the Sharks, is now to go one step further than they have ever gone before. Neither team is satisfied with reaching the final but is determined to win it, to join the Blues, Crusaders, Brumbies, Bulls and Reds as Super rugby champions.
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie, who is the first rookie coach to lead a team to the final, says his team is firmly focused on claiming its first championship.
"Realistically from the start we had a goal of winning the championship, but we thought it might be a couple of years away with the young guys we had, but they have found their feet quickly at this level," Rennie said.
"We've picked up a bunch with massive work ethic who give you a lot of graft. On paper we might not be as flash as other teams in this competition, but we've got guys who are prepared to hit a lot of rucks and make a lot of tackles, and do that graft.
The Chiefs are formidably coached: by Rennie who previously coached New Zealand's world champion under-20 teams, by the World Cup-winning All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith and by uncompromising forwards coach Tom Coventry. They also have more depth and more experience in key positions than when they last reached the final.
Rennie said the Chiefs would not diverge in the final from the game plan that had carried them there. Some teams played more conservatively in finals matches but the Chiefs intended to play the fast-paced game that they had used effectively throughout the season.
"One thing you have seen with us versus other teams is that they get into finals rugby and don't play their game, kick the ball and hope for mistakes," he said. "Whereas we were still prepared to play our natural game and we like to have a crack.
"We feel if we can get a big enough lead, they can't come back at us. The Sharks at times have also seemed to drop off towards the end of games, while our boys are incredibly fit, so the key for them will be to get off to a quick start, as we've noticed some teams haul them back."
The Sharks are bent on changing their reputation as the best South African team never to have won a Super rugby title. They have a squad featuring 16 Springboks, restored to full strength for Saturday's final by the recovery from injury of fullback Patrick Lambie. They are also guided from first-five by French international Frederic Michalak.
If they can shake off the debilitating effects of travel, they have the chance of repairing the gulf in their resume left by their previous finals losses.
"What motivates us is the fact that we're in the final, and more so that none of us have ever won the trophy," winger JP Pietersen said. "That motivates everyone, players and coaching staff. We're all very excited for Saturday.
"The Chiefs have been the best team in the competition this season. They showed that the whole tournament and we're in for a big game. We'll have to start well against them and will need to be at our best."
Coach John Plumtree said if the Sharks were able to win the final, after criss-crossing the globe over the last three weeks, their achievement might be considered the greatest in Super Rugby history.
"I mean, it would be amazing ... flying there, flying back here, then back again," he said. "Nobody's ever done it. Who can do it? If we can get up physically for this game, anything can happen."
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