McKenzie magic powers Chiefs to win over Brumbies

The Chiefs have glided into the Super Rugby Pacific Final to face the Crusaders after a 37-17 win over the ACT Brumbies in Hamilton.

Damian McKenzie's boot dominated proceedings with six penalties and he converted both Emoni Narawa's tries while the Brumbies have crossed the chalk three times through Corey Toole (two) and Billy Pollard.

McKenzie recorded 22 points to go with a try assist as the hosts ran away with the game in the second half.

They will take on the Crusaders in Christchurch after their epic win over the Blues on Friday.

The Chiefs were dealt an early blow as lock Tupou Vaa’i went to the bin for an early high shot on Billy Pollard.

Pollard would make the hosts pay for the indiscretion with the opener as the Brumbies drove over for a rolling maul try.

This failed to hold the hosts back for long as they worked their way back into the Brumbies’ territory, who were dealt a blow after a failed HIA for Noah Lolesio.

Winger Narawa sparked the home crowd with a smart pick and go to expose the space around the ruck to level the scores.

Two McKenzie’s penalties gave the hosts the lead as replacement Jack Debreczeni fired up the Brumbies.

A further two penalties from McKenzie gave the hosts a 19-12 lead at half-time before some magic from Toole tried to spark the Brumbies into life.

Toole got the ball inside the 22 as he gassed George Dyer and bumped off McKenzie to dive over in the corner as the margin reduced to two.

But the Chiefs were a step ahead as Narawa crossed for his second after a Quinn Tupaea break splintered the Brumbies' defence.

A fifth and sixth McKenzie penalty pushed the margin out past two converted tries as the Chiefs remained desperate to go one further than 2024.

Josh Jacomb sealed the win in the 63rd minute as McKenzie set up his fellow playmaker for the dagger.

Tom Wright thought he’d got the Brumbies back in the game but an unbelievable try-saver from McKenzie stopped a certain try.

It allowed the Chiefs to close out the win and set up a rematch of the Final from 2023.

On Friday the defending champions Blues had over 40 phases of attack on the Crusaders’ line across multiple penalties but couldn’t send the game into extra-time as Christian Lio-Willie dived on the loose ball in the 86th minute to seal the 21-14 win for the Crusaders.

All Black superstar Will Jordan came up in the big moments, scoring a clutch double to break the deadlock as the hosts reeled in a 14-point deficit for the victory.

Jordan’s second try came with just over 10 minutes to go after sustained pressure and multiple turned down chances to kick penalties delivered the killer blow.

The Blues opened the scoring in the 10th minute when a smart kick in behind from AJ Lam forced a mistake and five metre scrum from the Crusaders.

This created the platform for Mark Tele’a to strike, diving over in the corner after Beauden Barrett’s cutout took advantage of the overlap.

The Crusaders compounded this try with a yellow card after Braydon Ennor collected Hoskins Sotutu high from the restart.

A similar situation set up their second try via Rieko Ioane after he powered over the line for a 14-0 lead.

The hosts quickly went to work after returning to full numbers with Tom Christie lifting the home crowd with their first points of the night.

A yellow card to Joshua Fusitu’a only fuelled their momentum and try-scoring freak Will Jordan was there to spin over and level the game right before the break.

Half-time came at the perfect time for the Blues, who went back on the attack as they pressed the hosts’ line.

Ricky Riccitelli was held up over the line as the Crusaders held strong for long enough to keep the game level.

Injuries hurt the Blues, with multiple front-rowers forced off at various moments of the game.

It saw hooker Kurt Eklund forced to play prop which allowed the Crusaders to build pressure.

A rash moment from Sotutu gifted the Crusaders a penalty 10 metres out as they earned penalty after penalty on the Blues’ line.

Eventually, it was too much for the Blues to stop as Jordan crossed for his second in the 13th phase of the attack.

The task became tougher for the visitors after head clash between Sotutu and Fihaki left theNo 8 sitting on the sidelines for the rest of the game.

Despite this, they had several chances at the siren to replicate last week’s heroics and send the game into Super Time.

They kicked for the line 10 metres out and spent 38 phases attacking the Crusaders line with no luck but another penalty advantage allowed them to reset.

Tele’a went close to the line but the Crusaders No 8 turned the ball over well into extra time to seal their place in the final.

The win ensures the Final will be played at Apollo Projects Stadium, the last game before the Crusaders move to the new stadium.