All Black hopeful bags hat-trick of assists as Chiefs squash Western Force at home
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Chiefs scrum-half Cortez Ratima starred for his side as the Waikato men ran riot in a 56-7 victory over the Western Force in Super Rugby Pacific on Saturday.
The hosts scored nine tries on the day with wing Daniel Rona grabbing three of them while Emoni Narawa, Damian McKenzie, Tupou Vaa’i, Bradley Slater, Tyrone Thompson and Josh Ioane all scored. McKenzie also kicked four conversions and a penalty in a 16-point haul.
While it was a tough outing for the Force they did manage to pick up a penalty try before the half-time break but unfortunately had nothing else to show for their efforts.
Click here to see teams and scorers
The Chiefs showed their respect for their visitors by opting to take an early penalty with McKenzie making no mistake with the kick in the second minute. There would be no turning back as the floodgates almost immediately opened.
Narawa continued his strong return from injury with a sixth-minute try before Rona scored his first in the 13th minute and McKenzie added the extras. On the 20-minute mark, the fly-half’s influence on the game grew further as he scored a converted try.
Next up it was Vaa’i’s turn as the large second-row crashed over for a converted effort after 30 minutes. The Force would score their only points in the 36th minute, ending the half on a positive.
After the break normal service resumed with Slater scoring after only seven minutes before a long break in scoring as the Force tried to get a foothold in the game.
Ultimately the visitors’ efforts would be in vain as the Chiefs ran in two tries in the last 10 minutes through Thompson and Ioane, which firmly sent a message to the rest of the competition.
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The teams
Chiefs: 15 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 14 Emoni Narawa, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Daniel Rona, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Kaylum Boshier (c), 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 3 George Dyer, 2 Bradley Slater, 1 Aidan Ross
Replacements: 16 Tyrone Thompson, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Kauvaka Kaivelata, 19 Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Simon Parker, 22 Xavier Roe, 23 Josh Ioane
Force: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Bayley Kuenzle, 13 Sam Spink, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Chase Tiatia, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Will Harris, 5 Jeremy Williams (c), 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Tom Horton, 1 Josh Bartlett
Replacements: 16 Feleti Kaitu’u, 17 Marley Pearce, 18 Tiaan Tauakipulu, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Michael Wells, 21 Henry Robertson, 22 Max Burey, 23 Henry O’Donnell