Blues storm past Canes

The Blues will take a lot of momentum into the Super Rugby season after another impressive pre-season victory.

Leon MacDonald’s men made it two impressive wins from two when beating the Hurricanes 38-31 yesterday in Mangatainoka in northern Wairarapa. That followed a 43-10 win over the Chiefs last weekend.

Ma’a Nonu scored a second-half try, while wing Melani Nanai grabbed a secondhalf double as the Blues turned an early 14-0 deficit into 38-19 lead midway through the second half, before their defence relented late in the heat.

MacDonald said he was impressed with the way his side weathered the first-half storm, which saw them dominated before Hoskins Sotutu scored after the halftime hooter to bring the score back to 14-14.

‘‘I wasn’t happy with the way it happened, but to be able to keep our composure the way we did and get back into the game, string some phases together and build some attack was good.

‘‘Probably the most pleasing thing was we were 14-0 down and defended our line for a long period of time. You know, 21-0 is a long way to come back from, so that was a critical moment where we showed a lot of grit on the line.’’