Player ratings: Who was hot, who was not?

BLUES

Zarn Sullivan: At 20-years-old in his first major final, demonstrated how confident and skilful he is. Never looked like dropping one in the Eden Park cauldron. 7 Bryce Heem: One of the finds of the season and excellent down the right flank. 7

Rieko Ioane: Growing as a leader and as a likely ABs starter will have to improve for the test arena. 5 TJ Faiane: In what could be final his Blues appearance, he was as reliable as ever. 6

Mark Telea: Always looks dangerous and breaking tackles comes naturally. His finish for the opening try was tidy. 7

Otere Black: Started slowly but calmly kicked across field for Telea’s opener. Looked shaky after first-half head injury assessment. 4 Finlay Christie: Busy and energetic, and sparked their attack when they applied the blowtorch on the Highlanders. 6 Hoskins Sotutu: He carries with so much conviction and is as willing to do the dirty work. 7 Dalton Papalii: His tackling was brilliant and led the count for the Blues with 10. 8

Akira Ioane: A quiet match. 5

Gerard Cowley-Tuioti: In his final appearance before moving to Japan, typically solid. Tireless effort in a brutal breakdown battle. 7 Patrick Tuipulotu: The captain gets better as a leader all the time and finished as the skipper with the trophy. 6

Nepo Laulala: The big man won the first scrum penalty and never let up. He will be in the mix for the All Blacks again. 7

Kurt Eklund: Gets through the hard yards. His lineout throwing was inconsistent, though. 6 Alex Hodgman: The scrum was strong in his time on the field. He can expect another call-up for the All Blacks. 6

Reserves

Karl Tu’inukuafe: Replaced Hodgman early in the second half and the scrum was instantly more powerful. 6

Marcel Renata: Didn’t make much of an impact as the Highlanders fought back. 5

Blake Gibson: Coming on for Akira Ioane, he smartly finished off the match-winning try. 6 Jonathan Ruru: Brought on just as Aaron Smith was inspiring a Highlanders comeback and added vital late energy. 6