Chiefs 28-10 Brumbies: Kiwi side completes Aussie whitewash
By AFP
Last Updated: 15/07/17 11:24am
The Chiefs defeated the Brumbies 28-10 to complete New Zealand's Super Rugby rout over Australian sides this season.
The Kiwis outscored the visitors by three tries to one in Hamilton as they led throughout with full-back Damien McKenzie inspiring them to an easy win.
The result in the final round of the regular season gives New Zealand teams a 25-0 winning record against Australian opposition, the first such clean sweep over their trans-Tasman rivals.
Australia's horror run against Kiwi teams actually extends to 30-0 if results from last year are factored in.
Both sides had already qualified for the quarter-finals but the Chiefs needed a win to keep alive their hopes of overtaking the Hurricanes.
However, the Canes' 31-22 win over the Crusaders in Wellington means the Chiefs will travel to Cape Town next week for a date with the Stormers.
The Brumbies, guaranteed a home quarter-final next week after topping the Australian conference with just six wins, named a virtual reserve team for the Hamilton fixture.
Yet they dominated early possession against their more fancied opponents but could not convert it into points before a McKenzie penalty put the Chiefs on the board.
McKenzie followed up with a scintillating try, swerving his way through the Brumbies defence after a perfectly timed run onto Solomona Alaimalo's pass.
Hard-running centre Nigel Ah Wong found a gap to hit back for the Brumbies with a converted try, and the visitors added a penalty to cut the Chiefs' lead at half-time to 13-10.
Scrum-half Tomas Cubelli was sin-binned shortly after the restart and the Chiefs made the most of the advantage, sending Alaimalo over in the corner.
They continued to press and Michael Leitch raced over the tryline with 10 minutes to go to put the result beyond doubt.
