Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa: Blues claim lame win over Hurricanes

Blues 27
Hurricanes 17

Rack up the victory and move on could be the best approach for the Blues.

Breaking a two-game losing streak will bring a sense of relief, but Leon MacDonald still has a lot of work to do, despite doing enough to repel the Hurricanes and hold his own in contention for the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa final.

The best Easter Saturday news for the Blues is that this victory puts them within four points of the Crusaders following the surprise surprise from the Highlanders in Christchurch on Friday.

However, unlike that southern derby, this contest fought to inspire the Hurricanes who struggled to compete after conceding two yellow cards in the first half and the Blues battled throughout to eliminate them.

Three weeks ago at Eden Park, the Blues comfortably defeated the Highlanders to record their second straight win to start the season. After the losses to the Crusaders and Chiefs and this win, the Blues haven’t been the same team since.

The Blues scored three attempts to one, but this was not a convincing display from the locals, certainly not one that will have someone label them as true title contenders.

The scrum stood out as the Blues’ best feature of the night, a marked improvement after they were displaced by Waikato Stadium last week.

Stephen Perofeta set up an attempt in the second half after the Hurricanes blocked James Blackwell flying off the line to place TJ Faiane, and Rieko Ioane took advantage of another mismatch to skin fellow Hurricanes Isaia Walker-Leawere and hand him over to Mark Telea his third attempt.

Otherwise, however, there was little to celebrate for the 17,000 viewers. When one of the loudest cheers comes during the halftime sprints, you know something is wrong.

A week after his 30-point record against the Highlanders in Dunedin, Jordie Barrett was once again influential for the Hurricanes; his rocket boot fired more than two penalties from more than 50 meters. But aside from Salesi Rayasi’s injection of the Auckland wing down the line, the Hurricanes struggled to get their attack going, landing a late attempt from Reed Prinsep.

However, two yellow cards did not help his cause.

The visitors entering one point less at halftime, after passing 20 minutes to one man less, said it all about the Blues ‘running and the Hurricanes’ defense.

Despite Du’Plessis Kirifi charging the first yellow card for a high clean at Otere Black, the Hurricanes managed to score three points while the Blues were unable to collect any in that time. The Hurricanes then repeated those efforts after a dubious yellow to Hurricanes boss Ardie Savea.

Savea was rightly perplexed by its yellow. After fighting his way through a maul on his own line, Savea threw Blues hooker Luteru Tolai inches away, only for referee Brendon Pickerill to deem him illegal and award the Blues a questionable penalty.

The first half of the Blues left a lot to be desired. Dalton Papalii did his best to ignite the Blues early on with two turnovers penalties in the first seven minutes, but his team was disappointing as they failed to make the most of their one-man lead.

After successive defeats and seven changes to their starting team, the Blues seemed lacking in confidence at times. His lineout, which struggled in a loss to the Chiefs last week, missed two pitches; Caleb Clarke, sporting a new haircut, dropped two tall balls that he would normally swallow in his sleep. And the Blues’ bottom line looked disjointed with multiple passes thrown forward or hitting the grass.

Coming out of the sheds, Tom Robinson, in his first match as captain after taking over from Patrick Tuipulotu, an injured All Blacks block, was a man possessed. He stole a lineout and delivered a crucial blow to Julian Savea that forced the former All Blacks wing to make a mistake. Robinson was also a ubiquitous threat in almost all breakdowns.

Faiane and Telea’s attempts gave the Blues a breather in the form of a 12-point lead but, even then, they let the Hurricanes come back when Prinsep crashed.

A late black penalty ended the Blues’ work, but MacDonald has a lot to think about during his team’s second bye week.

Blues 27 (Penalty attempt, TJ Faiane, Mark Telea attempts; Otere Black 2 cons, 2 pens)
Hurricanes 17 (Reed Prinsep test; Jordie Barrett 4 pens)
HT: 10-9