Blues dare to dream after win
The Blues believe they still have a chance to reach the Super Rugby play-offs and they kept that dream alive with a 37-24 win over the Hurricanes.
Although the victory, in a a nine-try thriller in Auckland, did not improve their position on the standings – they are still 10th – it did close the gap somewhat on the leading contenders.
Whatever the final outcome of the competition, the Blues at least showed they are worthy contenders and have also put a dent in the Hurricanes' hopes of home ground advantage in the play-offs.
The Blues may have been gifted some impetus with a questionable call by the referee and TMO, but once they hit the front their confidence soared and they started to win all the little battles that gave them a real edge over the Hurricanes.
While the yellow card and penalty try incident happened too early in the game (15th minute) to have influenced the final result, it certainly changed momentum in the game.
It also resulted in the Hurricanes losing the composure they had shown up to that stage.
But credit must go to the Blues, who – once they had the bit between the teeth – kicked on and made the Hurricanes look ordinary at times.
Beauden Barrett hit the upright with an early penalty shot at goal, but it mattered not. The very next penalty was turned into a line-out and from a very powerful maul Faifili Levave flopped over. This time, from near the touchline, Barrett slotted the conversion – 7-0 after 12 minutes.
Flyhalf Ihaia West slotted a penalty in the 14th minute and then the game was turned on its head.
From the restart the Blues launched a blistering raid into the Hurricanes 22 and fullback Matt Proctor got between two attackers, knocking the ball in what appeared a backwards direction. A retreating Barrett collected, but the referee blew his whistle and called the TMO into action.
Between them they conspired to rule that Procter had 'deliberately knocked the ball on' – even though his hand movement was backwards (which is legal) and the ball actually never bounced in the direction of the Blues' line. However, they found that there were no defenders behind Proctor and a try would probably have been scored.
Not only was Proctor sent to the sin bin, but a penalty try was also awarded. West added the conversion and suddenly the Blues had the lead.
The Blues were not done yet. They came charging back into the Hurricanes' half and Pita Ahki produced a sublime little grubber that Lolagi Visinia ran onto for the second try. This time West's conversion attempt was not on target, but the Blues held a 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
West missed a penalty shot at goal a minute from half-time, as the Blues took that eight-point (15-7) lead into the break.
The Blues applied the blowtorch in the early stages of the second half and got reward when Jerome Kaino went over near the uprights while three defenders were attending to him. The conversion made it 22-7.
However, within minutes it became 27-7, when George Moala made the Hurricanes pay for a poor attempted clearance – he kept on running while the cover defence failed to track him down. This time West was off-target with the conversion attempt, but the four-try bonus point was already secured.
The Hurricanes kept searching for a momentum-shifter and it came from a penalty and a quick tap by TJ Perenara, which saw Julian Savea finishing off the move that caught the Blues unawares. The conversion attempt by Barrett was off-target – 12-27.
However, the Blues scored next – a brilliant clean-out by Tom Donnelly allowed Patrick Tuipulotu to go over for the fifth try. West's conversion gave them a 34-12 lead.
Again the Hurricanes fought hard, with an impressive raid by the backs allowing Ardie Savea to go over for the third try – the conversion closing the gap to 19-34 and giving them some hope with more than 10 minutes still on the clock.
However, a West penalty minutes later meant the Hurricanes were left requiring to score three tries in the closing stages.
They still had hopes of a couple of bonus points and the first (for four tries) came when Levave went over in the left corner with about three minutes left on the clock. The conversion attempt was wide – 24-37.
And they have a late chance of a second bonus point, but as was the case for most of the match, it was an error that ended a promising raid.
Man of the match: Faifili Levave was the Hurricanes' most productive player, but all the heroes wore blue. Tom Donnelly was a monster on defence and at the ruck, Patrick Tuipulotu certainly did his growing reputation no harm. Jerome Kaino is starting to show the form that could earn him a starting spot in the All Black team. However, our award goes to Blues flank Luke Braid, who was like a ravaging vulture at the breakdown, while his work on defence was probably more valuable than the turnovers he secured .
The scorers:
For the Blues:
Tries: Penalty try, Visinia, Kaino, Moala, Tuipulotu
Cons: West 3
Pens: West 2
For the Hurricanes:
Tries: Levave 2, J Savea, A Savea
Cons: Barrett 2
Yellow card: Matt Proctor (Hurricanes, 15 – professional foul, deliberate knock-on)
Teams:
Blues: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Pita Ahki, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 George Moala, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Luke Braid, 6 Peter Saili, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 James Parsons, 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18 Angus Ta'avao, 19 Hayden Triggs, 20 Steven Luatua, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Simon Dickey, 23 Albert Nikoro.
Hurricanes: 15 Matt Proctor, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith (captain), 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Faifili Levave, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles, Reggie Goodes.
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Reggie Goodes/Brendon Edmonds, 19 Brad Shields, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Chris Smylie, 22 Tim Bateman, 23 James Marshall.
Referee: Garratt Williamson
Assistant referees: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand), Mike Lash
TMO: Glenn Newman
