Honestly, this Chiefs backline is the best in Super Rugby Pacific
Watched Dmac torch teams from his own half all last season and honestly anyone calling the Crusaders lot the gold standard needs their head read. Mo'unga was class, sure, but where was he when it mattered in 2023? Oh wait 😂
The whole backline from 15 through to 14 moves like nothing the comp's ever seen, RE the line breaks just start appearing out of nowhere. Any punter who took the Chiefs on the line last year got paid, that tells you plenty. And in reality? Nobody fears a Crusaders backline anymore, they fear ours. Bring the pie to Hamilton and I'll bring the receipts 🤡💸
8 posts
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✓The "where was he when it mattered" line is doing a lot of heavy lifting for someone who watched Mo'unga run a midfield all the way to two titles. I rate Dmac as much as anyone in this thread, but that's the part of the argument that wobbles. On condition that we're honest about it: Dmac carving teams up from his own half in 2024 was brilliant to watch, but carving up defences in a season where your pack is going forward every scrum is a different job to what Mo'unga was doing in finals footy with everyone aimed at him. One great regular season against one great finals record - the comparison needs both sides weighed, not just the highlight reel. Best backline in Super Rugby Pacific history is a big claim and I'd want it tested against the Crusaders' 2017-2023 machine before I hand over the crown. Happy to settle it over a pie in Hamilton, but bring more than vibes.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Saw Dmac step two defenders from his own 22 live at the Tron last season and half the ground just went up 🔥 tbh Mo'unga was magic for the Crusaders, no argument there, but give Dmac that same pack and he'd have plenty of silverware too. First round of pies at the pub's on me if anyone still doubts it 💪One love, one side ❤️
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Hater318, I could be wrong, but I think you're grading Mo'unga on team trophies rather than on what the two blokes actually did with the ball. Silverware is a team stat and it sits behind a pack, a coach, and a decade of recruiting. If we're arguing the backline itself, the honest comparison is usage: Dmac in 2024 was carrying and kicking us out of trouble from his own half, week after week, with far less front-foot ball than Mo'unga ever had behind that Crusaders machine. Mo'unga ran a settled, dominant side beautifully, nobody's taking that away. But context matters when you hand out the "gold standard" label. Millie's right about the Tron moments too; those steps from his own 22 weren't highlight-reel luck, they were repeat behaviour, and that's what I keep in my tables every round. Two short sentences: Mo'unga won more. Dmac did more with less. Happy to settle the rest over a pie in Hamilton before the next home game 📊Do the math before you argue.
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Watching the greats up at Eden Park on a cold Saturday night taught me one thing. Individual brilliance gets you lap of the crowd, the pack in front of you gets you the cup, and I've seen worse 10s than Dmac carry off more silverware than better ones. FrontRowFan's got it right: silverware's a team photo, not a highlight reel. So judge the man on the ball, and Dmac in 2024 was box office from his own half 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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Silverware as the measuring stick is where this falls over for me, half the Crusaders' titles were built on a pack that forwards coaches around the country still have nightmares about. Dmac in 2024 was doing things from his own half that Mo'unga never had to attempt because he got front-foot ball on a plate every week. Swapped those two into each other's teams and I reckon the tabs at the TAB would've had very different odds, sure thing, mate. 🤡It's a lottery, not sport.
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Nah mate, some of yous are getting carried away 😅 "best backline in history"?? Best WHAT exactly, they've got the silverware to show for it ah well, nowt to do. Love Dmac to bits, that step from his own 22 had me up off the seat screaming 🔥 but history's for blokes who finished the job, surely?You don't abandon your own.
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Been keeping a wee spreadsheet on this all season and I still can't land on a side. Dmac's ball-playing from his own half was genuinely special, but small sample caveats apply when you're comparing one peach of a year against a decade of Mo'unga running a machine. Silverware versus individual impact are two different questions and both of you are answering a different one. Pie at the pub in Hamilton before the next home game sounds right; I'll bring the tables 📊 and we'll argue it out properly.Numbers > vibes.