Blues out to extend record run
The last time the Blues lost to the Force, the country was still coming to terms with the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup quarterfinal exit.
Indeed, it was just over five months after that fateful day against France in Cardiff in 2007 that David Nucifora’s lot were tipped up in round five of the 2008 Super 14 season by John Mitchell’s Western Australian mob at North Harbour Stadium.
Now, 16 years on, it remains the Force’s last, and only, victory over the Auckland-based franchise.
That’s where we start in this maiden edition of a new weekly Super Rugby Pacific stat chat before the weekend’s round of games (with a shout-out to our mates at Opta and Rugby Database for their continued fine work).
11
The Blues are on an 11-game undefeated streak against the Force, a record run for them against any single opponent.
Their 27-17 loss on March 15, 2008, had come on the back of a three-game trip to South Africa (remember those?), where they had posted 50-plus against the Lions and Cheetahs, then lost to the Sharks.
It was a result the Blues would later be left to rue further, finishing the season sixth on the table (remember when just the top four made the finals?), just one point off fourth place, two off third, and three off second.
Since that evening at Albany, though, 5865 days ago, the Blues have not suffered the same fate against the Force (albeit with a 22-22 draw in Perth in 2011 thrown in the mix), who have in that time tipped over all of the other Kiwi sides.
Not that the Blues’ wins have come easy, mind you, with the last five meetings with the Force, dating back to 2016, decided by an average margin of eight points.
2
Defence wins championships, as they say, and Blues coach Vern Cotter will be delighted with that aspect of his side’s season through the opening half-dozen rounds.
The Blues comfortably top the charts in terms of points against, having given up just 92 (26 fewer than the Hurricanes), as well as tries conceded, leaking only 12 (five fewer than the Hurricanes, Brumbies and Crusaders).
After conceding 10 points in the narrow round-four win over the Waratahs in Sydney, the Blues have now gone two games in a row without having double figures scored against them – their 26-6 win over the Crusaders and 47-8 dispatching of Moana Pasifika, both at Eden Park.
6.25%
Moana Pasifika started the season, if not with a hiss and a roar, at least with some promise under new coach Tana Umaga, the two-time reigning wooden spooners managing two wins in their opening four weeks.
Since then, though, they have fallen by the wayside against some of the better teams, crashing to heavy defeats against the Brumbies and Blues.
What must be alarming, though, for Umaga, who was intent on getting his side fitter and able to compete for longer, is their performance in the back-end of matches.
Obviously not helping is a massive injury toll, which this week still features 10 in the casualty ward, but Moana’s final-quarter stats are damning.
Just one of the 16 tries they have scored has come between minutes 60 and 80, a miserly 6.25% which is, unsurprisingly, the lowest in the competition (the Force are next worst in that department, at 10.53%).
And it’s not much better in terms of Moana’s final-quarter tries conceded, either, with their 0.6 per game having them comfortably last in that department.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, have been typically fast starters, with 40% of their tries coming in the opening quarter of their games, easily ahead of the second-ranked Crusaders’ 33.33%.
42/78
Look for an intriguing matchup in the discipline department here for referee Damon Murphy.
That is because, while this is a fixture between sides ranked No 6 and No 7 on the table, each with 3-3 records, it will be pitting the least penalised team against the most penalised.
The Rebels have conceded a competition-low 42 penalties through their six games (seven per game), while the Drua have copped a whopping 78 (13 per game).
It doesn’t end there, either, with the Drua having also conceded the equal-most cards (five yellow, one red) of any side, with the Rebels’ two sin-bins only bettered by the Reds, who haven’t had a solitary card waved their way.
11
In much the same vein as the Blues above, the Brumbies will be out to continue a long-running dominance over the Waratahs.
The men from ACT have won 14 of their last 15 matches against the Sydneysiders, including their last 11 straight, dating back to 2018. That represents the Brumbies’ third-best winning streak against any side, behind their 14-game effort against the Force from 2014 to 2022 and the 12-match run against the Reds from 2000 to 2010.
The last four contests have all been decided by seven points or fewer, though.