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The Chiefs got out of jail with a late try to edge the Rebels 30-33 in their Super Rugby Pacific clash on Sunday at AAMI Park in Melbourne, where a decent crowd was treated to a close matchup with plenty of running rugby.
Rebels fullback Reece Hodge opened the scoring with a penalty after a cagey opening quarter.
However, the Chiefs then injected some impetus into the match with two tries in six minutes. First, No 8 Luke Jacobson went over the whitewash after some slick play from the backline, then Chase Tiatia scored a try following a lethal sidestep and loop pass from flyhalf Josh Ioane.
The Chiefs were on the cusp of closing out the opening stanza with a 12-3 lead, especially after Rebels' Pine Fa'amausili was shown a yellow card for disrupting play from an offside position. But Carter Gordon scooped up a loose ball on his own 22m line and sprinted away for a try against the run of play, making the score 12-10 at the break.
The Rebels once again capitalised on a Chiefs mistake when centre Andrew Kellaway hoofed a loose ball upfield, collected and got the five points. Hodge’s conversion made it 12-17.
The Chiefs drew level after some more inspiration from the talented Ioane, who stepped his way through the midfield and found fullback Kaleb Trask on his outside, who was pulled down metres before the line. After a couple of phases, hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho got his enormous legs pumping to drive over the line with two defenders on his back. The conversion put them two ahead with 20 minutes to play.
From a set-piece, the visitors extended their lead. An accurate lineout saw Brad Weber feed Emoni Narawa at first receiver, who exploded off his left foot to break the line and go over untouched.
The flurry of tries continued as a mix up in the Chiefs' backline saw Hodge pluck the ball from the air and show a clean pair of heels to score under the poles.
Another Hodge penalty set up a grandstand finish, with the Rebels leading 27-26 with nine minutes left on the clock.
There was late drama, as Jacobson was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, and two minutes later Hodge slotted an easy three-pointer to take the Rebels' lead out to four points with just seconds left on the clock.
Incredibly, the Rebels stole a crucial lineout but the clearing kick, which would have won the game, was partially charged down and secured by the visitors. A 14-man Chiefs rumbled forward and replacement Ollie Norris would score his first Super Rugby try in the 81st minute.
