All Black Cortez Ratima has guided the Chiefs to a comeback 19-15 win over the Blues at Eden Park.
Last year’s grand finalists struck with four minutes to go as the replacement scrum half took his chance to sprint away to silence the Eden Park faithful.
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It was a rare moment of attacking magic in a game dominated by the defences, leaving Ratima to be the hero as they stormed home.
The contest worked into gear as both teams missed early chances for first points.
Blues' new recruit Bradley Slater nearly came up with a dream start against his old side, held up over the line, summing up a tense opening quarter.
The Chiefs started to work their way into the contest and lock Tupou Vaa’i nearly had the opener, with Quinn Tuapea’s kick just too strong for the towering lock after turning down to overlap.
The All Black didn’t have to wait long, though, with Vaa’i diving over the defenders for the first try.
This woke up the Blues as Caleb Clarke broke through the line, followed through by a powerful run by Zarn Sullivan that saw the fullback power over for the response.
Kaylum Boshier was yellow-carded right before half-time for a high tackle, leaving the two sides locked at 5-all heading into the sheds.
While the Chiefs withheld the ten-minute number disadvantage, they couldn’t stop Dalton Papali’i from short once they returned to their full allotment.
Sullivan again was the man to create the opportunity with a powerful run, allowing his skipper to crash over.
The visitors would eventually hit back and level the scores via hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, showing patience at the back of the rolling maul to pick the perfect time to peel off and touch down.
Some sloppy play from the visitors at the restart presented an easy chance for the Blues to re-take the lead through Sullivan’s boot.
But the visitors refused to drop their heads and eventually found their strike weapon, Ratima.
The All Black backed up a powerful break from Samipeni Finau to race clear and dive over with four minutes to go.
The hosts lost their heads from here, with Sam Nock yellow-carded for a professional foul late in the game, before missing a lineout that ended any hopes of a comeback.
Source: rugby.com.au
