Tana hails ‘world’s best player’
Look far and wide and you will struggle to find a more unlikely hero than Mark Abbott.
With the game in the balance, on the line, the Hurricanes lock grabbed his moment of glory with both hands, sneaking down the smallest of blindside channels with a slow amble that would not even spook the Easter Bunny to snatch a 28-24 victory for his weary side at Eden Park.
The Hurricanes were out on their feet. Moments earlier Beauden Barrett, a much more likely candidate, put in a typically brilliant chip and re-gather to give the Hurricanes the ascendancy after the Blues took the lead for the first time in the 66th minute.
But it was ultimately Abbott, after toiling relentlessly in the tight all night, who delivered the telling blow. The pure passion on his face said it all. This is one the big man can tell the grandkids about. Any wonder Hurricanes forwards coach John Plumtree greeted his secondrower with a huge grin and a beer in the sheds.
Five times in a row the Hurricanes have now beaten the Blues. There have been some doozies in that time - Conrad Smith’s match-winner at this very ground springs to mind. This one sits right up there for drama, and the character shown by both teams.
Barrett left his imprint all over this match. First, his upright running style and pace was on full display as he broke and set Ngani Laumape away, the dynamic secondfive bumping off two defenders to score. Barrett’s top-end speed saw him grubber a fumble and sprint 50 metres to touch down. And he then copped his third yellow card in two matches - this time for playing Blues halfback Pulu. The Hurricanes managed to not concede any points without their star playmaker. And when he returned, Barrett was electric.
Post match Umaga joked the only way to contain Barrett was to take him out.
‘‘They’ve outlawed a lot of that stuff now,’’ Umaga said. ‘‘He’s just unbelievable at the moment, playing with that much confidence and vision and time on the ball. We felt we deserved more but when you’ve got the world’s best player playing against you and he’s in that kind of form...’’
The Blues were better than they have been all year, and yet walk away with just a losing bonus point and their playoffs hopes in tatters. Worst still, they have to stew on it over the bye. Rugby can be a cruel game. Doesn’t Tana Umaga know it. He will be proud of his men, but frustrated they couldn’t get over
He’s just unbelievable at the moment. Tana Umaga
the line against Kiwi opposition once again.
There’s something about a Blues and Hurricanes derby that lifts the pace and tempo. Both sides came to use the ball; to attack whenever there was any ounce of space. Collisions were brutal, and every breakdown ferociously contested. The Blues were lethal off turnovers and counter attack; Augustine Pulu and Melani Nanai combining in devastating fashion down the blindside to grab the Blues’ first try.
Dropped ball and missed tackles meant this wasn’t a match of exceptional quality. But the 24,208 strong crowd were certainly in full voice and entertained throughout.
Following the fallout from the saga surrounding his jersey sponsors, it was not a memorable night for Sonny Bill Williams. In his second match back after eight months off it looked as though he was trying to force his hand too much. He missed a difficult tackle running back on Laumape - and punched the goal padding in frustration. He gave away a penalty for a no arms tackle; dropped a difficult pass from Pulu which led to Barrett’s try. And on two occasions pushed offloads that weren’t on. His best moment came with a simple, straight, direct charge where he pushed off Barrett. Defensively, Williams was strong in the second half.
‘‘There’s a bit of rustiness to his play and he’s only going to get better with more game time,’’ Umaga said. ‘‘I don’t think that’s anything to do with the week it’s more the eight months away and his first start. He made a couple of errors that he’ll learn from but it’s still pretty positive.’’
On the whole the Blues deserve praise. Steven Luatua was a force from No 8, laying on a try for Nanai with a destructive burst through a Vince Aso tackle. Scott Scrafton’s presence improved the lineout and he nabbed a try. Pulu sniped regularly. And Bryn Gatland made his Super Rugby debut. None of it proved enough, though.