Super Rugby: Chiefs blow away Stormers
Last Updated: 23/07/16 9:09pm
The Chiefs secure a Super Rugby semi-final against the Hurricanes with a crushing eight-try 60-21 win over the Stormers on Saturday.
The Waikato side, who became the third New Zealand side to book a place in the final four, now travel home to meet the top-ranked Hurricanes in Wellington next weekend. with the Lions hosting the Highlanders in the other semi in Johannesburg.
The Chiefs built a 20-point lead by halftime at Newlands as they caught out the hosts with pace and quick movement of the ball.
Full-back McKenzie proved peerless with the boot, missing just once.
The visitors delivered a masterclass of attacking rugby and outscored the Stormers by eight tries to three - most of the damage occurring before the break - and went on to complete their biggest victory over the Stormers in front of a sullen 28,972-strong crowd.
It was the Stormers who crossed the whitewash first when prop Vincent Koch powered his way over from short range but from then on in the Chiefs looked in control, their intensity and fast-paced game plan proving too hot to handle for the South African outfit.
Three minutes later, the Chiefs issued their first blow through winger Sam McNichol who swerved his way past Jaco Taute after brilliant interplay between James Lowe and Damian McKenzie in the build-up.
Their second shortly followed when Brad Weber went over under the posts giving the Chiefs a 17-7 lead as the game ticked past the quarter of an hour mark.
The Chiefs continued to exert their dominance over their opponents and the 24th minute brought another try, Aaron Cruden the creator with a chargedown, Tom Sanders diving on the loose ball over the line.
The game continued to go from bad to worse for the Stormers when Lowe became the latest player to add his name to the Chiefs' ever growing list of try scorers when he outpaced Kobus van Wyk to dot down.
Despite being on the back-foot for most of the opening 40 mintues, it was the Stormers who had the last say of the half when Koch used his brute force to bag his second try of the match, taking the score to 34-14.
The Chiefs continued their rampant try-scoring exploits after the break when they showed that they possess power up front alongside their dazzling back play, winning a scrum against the head that allowed Anton Lienert-Brown to slide through a gap in the shell-shocked Stormers' defence.
After a opening 46th minutes littered with eye-catching attack and try-scoring aplenty from the Chiefs, the Stormers tried to launch a fightback, going close on a number of occasions and dominating the possession but all without troubling the scoreboard as they failed to break the Chiefs down.
However, the home side's perseverance paid off in the 72nd minute, Nizaam Carr spotting a chink of daylight in the visitors' defence to score.
As the game edged ever nearer to its conclusion, the Chiefs showed they were far from finished subjecting their opponents to an attacking masterclass and sealed their win with a further three tries courtesy of Hika Elliot, Tevita Kolomatangi and Tawera Kerr-Barlow.