Sonny Bill inspires Chiefs to eighth straight victory over Blues
Sonny Bill Williams inspired the Waikato Chiefs to a 23-18 win over the Auckland Blues in Super Rugby on Saturday, the club's eighth victory in a row over their New Zealand rivals.
Sonny Bill Williams inspired the Waikato Chiefs to a 23-18 win over the Auckland Blues in Super Rugby on Saturday, the club's eighth victory in a row over their New Zealand rivals.
The Chiefs stunned the Blues with two tries in the first 15 minutes, both set up by Williams, who is back at inside centre for the club this season after two years playing rugby league in Australia.
"It was a very tough game," said Chiefs skipper Matt Symons. "It was good to get away with the win but there's still plenty of things to work on."
Those two early tries came back to bite us. We were better in the second half, did the basics well, but the Chiefs plugged the corners and kept us tryless
The Blues kept in touch through the boot of Ihaia West, who scored a franchise record six penalties, but solid Chiefs defence stopped them crossing the line in the second half.
"Those two early tries came back to bite us," Blues captain Jerome Kaino said. "We were better in the second half, did the basics well, but the Chiefs just plugged the corners and kept us tryless.
"There were a lot of positives we can take out of this. The forwards went about their work well and the backs did some good things too."
The match began at a furious pace, with Williams in the thick of the action. For the first try, his quick offload released James Lowe down the sideline, with the winger evading two tacklers to touch down.