Blues on song, Brown off-key
Last year the Blues tore into the Australians like happy pirates, navigating their way to the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman final and, ultimately, the treasure in the form of a silver trophy.
Even without All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett, unavailable because he was in Japan, the Blues beat the Highlanders 23-15 in the SRTT final at Eden Park in Auckland to claim their first competition win since 2003. Fair play to the Blues.
But let’s be honest: the six-week trans-Tasman format, produced in the middle of the pandemic to provide content in a time of need, was out of whack.
The Highlanders and Crusaders ( who earlier claimed the Super Rugby Aotearoa title) also won their five fixtures against struggling Australian sides, but a superior points differential guaranteed the Blues hosting rights for the June 19 final. Not everyone was convinced the right teams qualified.
We now know, with five rounds remaining until the top eight teams meet in the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs, that the Blues are a better team than the 2021 vintage. With just one defeat, to the Hurricanes in round two, it would be bonkers to bet against them hosting several playoff fixtures if they maintain momentum.
While last weekend’s 35-18 win over the Fijian Drua was scratchy, maximum competition points were banked. Next up, the Force in Perth.
1. Welcome back to Akira Ioane
Remember him? Ioane, having been sidelined for eight weeks with a foot injury, starts at No 6 for the Blues.
Dalton Papalii is back at No 7 to captain the side, and here’s hoping we get a decent look at what Roger Tuivasa-Sheck can do at No 12. A shoulder injury has done him few favours, but RTS is still a long way from proving himself a dead cert for the All Blacks.
Should we be patient? Of course. We all get that. Yet it’s no crime to ask when he’s going to deliver.
The Force, unable to play last week because of an outbreak of Covid-19, could be in strife for this one.
2. How can the Highlanders survive this?
Rugby players love touring when they’re winning; the coach is happy, the birds are chirping, the sun’s shining and trainings are fun.
If they’re losing? It’s the opposite. Because when you are living footy 24/7 while on the road, there’s no escaping the obvious: that something isn’t right.
It’s not as if the Highlanders aren’t trying. They are, and that shouldn’t be disputed.
However, the 1-8 record is a miserable outcome for a team that came close to winning
TTSR last year and the fact coach Tony Brown isn’t getting the flamethrower treatment from fans and media is, in all likelihood, a reflection of the goodwill points he’s accumulated from past accomplishments.
What pressure, if any, is coming from the Highlanders board is unknown.
For all the accolades rained down on him by commentators in recent years, though, it’s clear Brown isn’t a miracle worker. His squad is modest.
And the players’ skills are evaporating when they are on attack. This is a problem.
Brown, incidentally, wasn’t in New Zealand when the Highlanders played in TTSR; he was with Japan, leaving Clarke Dermody to work on the grass while corresponding with his boss from afar.
Now for the Suva adventure. Fijian Drua, who have also notched only one win, are primed for an emotional homecoming. If Brown ever needed to wave his magic wand, now is a good time to unholster it.
3. Memories of Townsville should motivate the Chiefs against the Reds in Brisbane
Coach Clayton McMillan, if he hasn’t already, will surely dig out footage of last year’s madcap game.
A red card to Damian McKenzie for a high tackle on Tate McDermott contributed to the drama. The Chiefs had no right to win when they trailed by 30 points at halftime.
They almost did. Behind 40-8 in the final quarter, the Chiefs fired multiple shots in a terrific comeback to lose 40-34.
All Blacks No 7 Sam Cane wasn’t there that day because of injury, and he won’t be at Suncorp Stadium because he has returned home to be with his wife ahead of the birth of their first child.
Luke Jacobson replaces Cane as skipper. Kaylum Boshier starts at No 7.
It shapes as the game of the round.