The Chiefs clash with the Brumbies in their final regular season home game of the season at FMG Stadium, Hamilton on Saturday.
The significance of this contest will only truly be realised retrospectively. It could be the last time Dave Rennie leads his team into battle in Waikato and the last performance at home for a very special group of long-serving players that includes Aaron Cruden, Tawera Kerr-Barlow and James Lowe.
Chiefs co-captain Cane said: “As far as special games go, our match on Saturday afternoon against the Brumbies is right up there.
“It’s our final guaranteed game at home this season and I’d love for thousands of our loyal fans to join me in the stands to honour Rens, Aaron and the boys who are leaving at the end of this season.
“Let’s give them a turnout befitting the massive contribution they’ve made to our club.”
The result of Saturday’s game will also ultimately decide the Chiefs quarter-final opponent. Currently there are two scenarios; the preference sees the Chiefs pack their bags next Wednesday for Canberra to take on Australia’s best Super Rugby side, the Brumbies. The appeal of this scenario is solely due to the reduced travel time.
To secure this, the Chiefs must defeat the Brumbies this weekend and in the later game, the Crusaders must draw with or beat the Hurricanes. The second scenario sees the Chiefs depart for Cape Town a mere seven hours after their match this Saturday to play the Stormers.
The Chiefs have opted to rest the All Blacks trio of Brodie Retallick, Cane and Anton Lienert-Brown but they should still be considered favourites, having enjoyed a far better season than the Brumbies.
It is true that Cane seems to galvanise them, but they have the equally talismanic Liam Messam in his place.
The Chiefs have won four of their last six games against the Brumbies, and will be looking for three victories in a row against the team from the Australian capital for the first time in Super Rugby history.
They have won each of their last four games when hosting the Brumbies, though they’ve allowed them a losing bonus point on each occasion.
Furthermore, the Chiefs have won nine of their last 10 games against Australian opposition, and haven’t lost to an Australian team when playing at home since 2014.
Meanwhile, the Brumbies have secured a home quarter-final (possibly against the Chiefs) by virtue of already having topped the Australian Conference.
But in truth the Canberra-based side have been far from convincing this season and have qualified for the play-offs at such an early stage not so much due to their quality but due to the poor displays of the other Australian sides.
The Brumbies have lost on their last eight visits to New Zealand by an average margin of 15 points, last winning in Round 4, 2014 against the Hurricanes.
The Canberra squad have been kept tryless in the opening half of three of their last six games, scoring only five tries in total across that span.
But attack is the least of their worries as defensively they will need to be on top of their game if they are to nullify the many attacking threats the Chiefs possess.
The last time the teams met: The Chiefs won comprehensively 48-23. Tries from Toni Pulu, Tom Sanders, Brad Weber, Damian McKenzie and a James Lowe brace proved too much for the Brumbies who scored through Scott Sio and Scott Fardy.
Players to watch:
For Chiefs: Keep an eye out for full-back Damian McKenzie who is a constant menace on attack and thorn in the side of opposition defences. The diminutive yet fleet-footed McKenzie tops the Super Rugby attacking stats for the season with the most carries (192), most metres (1314) and most defenders beaten (62).
For Brumbies: The Brumbies have struggled for tries this season but if there is one player who chipped in with more than his fair share, it is dynamic winger Henry Speight. The Fijian-born flyer is the Canberra side’s top try-scorer this season with a tally of seven to his name.
Team news: The Chiefs have opted to rest All Blacks Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick and Anton Lienert-Brown. It will be Stephen ‘Beaver’ Donald’s 100th Super Rugby competition game when he takes the field against the Brumbies on Saturday. Having captained the Chiefs in International fixtures against Wales in 2016 and the British & Irish Lions last month, Donald has already celebrated his century milestone with the club. Tim Nanai-Williams will rejoin the side next week following his commitments with the Samoan national team.
Meanwhile, the Brumbies have made twelve changes to the team that was beaten by the Reds in Brisbane last week. Only wing Henry Speight, fly-half Wharenui Hawera and flanker Scott Fardy remain from the side that went down by a point at Suncorp Stadium, as Head Coach Stephen Larkham takes the opportunity to rest some players ahead of the quarter-final clash on 21 July. A new-look front row sees Nic Mayhew and Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin propping either side of hooker Robbie Abel, whilst Tom Staniforth and Blake Enever combine in the second row. Fardy will captain the side from flanker in a back-row that also includes Jarrad Butler, who had a stint at centre in the Reds fixture, and a return to the starting XV for robust number eight Lolo Fakaosilea. Behind the scrum there is a first start of the season for Argentinean scrum-half Tomas Cubelli, who will link up with Kiwi fly-half Hawera, making a return to his home-town having been born in Hamilton. Andrew Smith and Nigel Ah Wong will form a potentially strong midfield, with Speight joined in the back-three by the returning James Dargaville and Jordan Jackson-Hope, the latter starting the match at full-back.
Form: The Chiefs have won 11 of their 14 games this season, with those victories coming against the Highlanders, Blues, Hurricanes, Rebels. Bulls, Cheetahs, Force, Sunwolves, Reds, Waratahs and Hurricanes. They have lost to the Stormers and Crusaders while drawing with the Blues. The Chiefs have won their last two, including a victory over the Hurricanes in their last game after a loss and a draw to the Crusaders and Blues respectively.
Meanwhile, the Brumbies have won six of their 14 games this season, with those victories coming against the Force, Waratahs, Reds, Kings, Jaguares and Rebels while they have lost to the Crusaders, Sharks, Highlanders, Rebels, Hurricanes, Blues, Lions and Reds. The Brumbies’ three match winning streak was ended last Friday with a defeat to the Reds.
Prediction: The Chiefs will have too much firepower, especially at home. Chiefs by 15.
Previous results:
2016: Chiefs won 48-23 in Canberra
2015: Chiefs won 19-17 in Hamilton
2014: Brumbies won 32-30 in Canberra
2014: Brumbies won 41-23 in Canberra
2013: Chiefs won 27-22 in Hamilton
2012: Chiefs wo 29-22 in Hamilton
2011: Brumbies won 28-20 in Canberra
2010: Brumbies won 30-23 in Canberra
The teams:
Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Solomon Alaimalo, 13 Alex Nankivell, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (c), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Michael Allardice, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Kane Hames
Replacements: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Atu Moli, 19 Tom Sanders, 20 Mitchell Karpik, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Stephen Donald, 23 Shaun Stevenson
Brumbies: 15 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Nigel Ah Wong, 12 Andrew Smith, 11 James Dargaville, 10 Wharenui Hawera, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Lolo Fakaosilea, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Scott Fardy (c), 5 Blake Enever, 4 Tom Staniforth, 3 Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin, 2 Robbie Abel, 1 Nic Mayhew
Replacements: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Ben Hyne, 20 Tom Cusack, 21 Jordan Smiler, 22 Ryan Lonergan, 23 Tom Banks
Date: Saturday. July 15
Venue: FMG Stadium, Hamilton
Kick-Off: 17:15 local (05:15 GMT)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant Referees: Richard Kelly, Cam Stone
TMO: Ben Skeen
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