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Aug 4 (Reuters) – The Waikato Chiefs powered to their first
ever Super Rugby title on Saturday with a sparkling 37-6 win
over the travel-weary Sharks in Hamilton.
The Chiefs lived up to their billing as the most
entertaining side in this season’s championship and also
outshone the hardworking South African forwards to bury memories
of their final humiliation to the Bulls three years ago.
The Chiefs made light of difficult conditions at Waikato
Stadium and led through tries by Tim Nanai-Williams, Kane
Thompson and Lelia Masaga before Sonny Bill Williams marked his
farewell appearance with his side’s fourth and final effort.
The Chiefs become the sixth winners in 17 seasons of Super
Rugby competition, while the Sharks simply looked drained by a
third straight playoff away from home and have now lost all four
of their final appearances.
The Sharks shocked the Queensland Reds in a playoff and
overcame the Stormers, who led the regular-season rankings, in
the semi-finals but managed only a pair of penalties on Saturday
from France fly-half Frederic Michalak.
“The boys were getting up in their faces,” Chiefs captain
Craig Clarke said. “We’ve got a heap of pride in our defence. We
talked about not giving over and keeping them to no tries. “This
is awesome.”
The South Africans trailed 13-3 at the interval and had been
the best second-half team in the competition going into the
final but unravelled as they chased the game as the Chiefs ran
the ball back and kicked intelligently.
““The Chiefs were outstanding tonight,” Sharks captain
Keegan Daniel said. ““They were outstanding all season.”
Continued…
