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At FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton: Chiefs 28 (Etene Nanai-Seturo try 6min, Shaun Stevenson tries 51min, 75min Samipeni Finau 54min; McKenzie con, 2 pen).
Highlanders 7 (Mosese Dawai try 59min; Freddie Burns con). HT: 8-0.
Yellow cards: Shannon Frizell (Highlanders) 50min, Sam Cane (Chiefs) 57min
The in-form Shaun Stevenson and Samisoni Taukei’aho lifted the Chiefs to their third bonus-point win of the year, but they were made to fight for it by an improved Highlanders side in Hamilton.
Stevenson scored two second-half tries – the Chiefs struck twice with Highlanders No 6 Shannon Frizell in the sin bin – but the Chiefs were messy at times in the face of the dogged visitors.
However, with Stevenson and Taukei’aho invariably beating the first tackler with their mixture of skill and power, the Chiefs had enough to secure a four tries-to-one win in front of a 12.138 crowd.
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The Highlanders also suffered two more injury blows. They ended up with Aaron Smith playing at No 10 after Mitch Hunt appeared to suffer a serious-looking shoulder injury, while Pari Pari Parkinson, Freddie Burns and Saula Ma’u were also forced from the field.
The evening didn’t go entirely to plan for the Chiefs either. All Blacks lock Tupou Vaa’i left the field after just 16 minutes with what appeared to be an injury to his left thigh.
The injury didn’t look serious – Vaa’i walked off the field – but it will likely put him in doubt for the Chiefs’ round four clash against the Rebels next week.
The Chiefs led 8-0 at halftime after squandering a number of chances, but found another few gears in the second spell with Frizell in the sin bin.
No 10 Damian McKenzie had some bright moments, notably setting up Etene Nanai-Seturo’s try in the first half, but the Chiefs also lacked control at times.
The Highlanders were their own worst enemy for the third week in a row. Again, the lineout had issues as it did against the Crusaders in Melbourne last weekend.
Some of their tactical kicking also left a lot to be desired, giving the Chiefs’ sharp back-three the room to launch counterattacks
Michael Bradley/Getty Images
Chiefs winger Etene Nanai-Seturo looks for space against the Highlanders at FMG Stadium Waikato, on Friday.
The Highlanders lost Parkinson in the first half, as the lock copped a heavy blow to the head while making a brave defensive play. He subsequently failed his HIA.
Referee Paul Williams also whacked the southerners in the penalty count, sending Frizell to sinbin after 50 minutes due to repeated team infringements.
The big moment
Samipeni Finau’s try – he was very good value after replacing Vaa’i – gave the home side the breathing space they needed.
Match rating
7/10. It was far from perfect, but the physical intensity of the game went up a few notches from the first two rounds of Super Rugby.
MVP
Chiefs fullback Shaun Stevenson continued his strong start to the year and was the best on show due to his priceless ability to beat defenders. It’s early days, but Stevenson is the form No 15 in New Zealand. For the Highlanders, hard-nosed No 8 Hugh Renton impressed in his first game of the season.
The big picture
The Chiefs are sitting pretty at the top of table, and their injury list is small compared to the luckless Highlanders. With three bonus-point wins in the bag, they may opt to use up some All Blacks rest weeks when they host the Rebels on Saturday week.The Highlanders travel to Invercargill next Sunday for a must-win against the Western Force. They will need to dig deep into their squad depth already.
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