Blues have reasons to be cheerful
Patrick McKendry
The messages from the Blues camp after their 41-34 defeat to the Highlanders were overwhelmingly positive despite another Super Rugby failure against a New Zealand opponent, but Tana Umaga and his men have reasons to be cheerful and confident about beating the Chiefs on Friday.
Should they do so at Eden Park, they will break a remarkable record of failure but will also make a few teams sit up and take notice as they prepare for a tough tour of South Africa where they play the Stormers and Lions.
The Blues have traditionally been so erratic, they are always thought of as one of those teams few would look forward to facing in a playoff match. If Umaga can take them to the next step, they are a side no team would look forward to playing at any stage of the competition.
Individual brilliance isn’t unusual at the Blues, and in Dunedin, there was plenty of that from Akira Ioane, Bryn Gatland, Rieko Ioane, Sonny Bill Williams and Matt Duffie.
There was also a sound set piece, a coherent team pattern and a willingness to be patient on attack.
They pushed and pulled the Highlanders defence expertly on their way to scoring four tries and at times surprised the home side with their physicality.
That they succumbed to their 12th consecutive defeat to a Kiwi opponent owed much to the yellow card shown to Antonio Kiri Kiri for a high tackle on Lima Sopoaga 10 minutes after halftime — a crucial stage of the game.
The Blues will be preparing for their next game in good spirits because their closest rivals looked frail at times in losing 45-23 to the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday night.
After moving from fullback following the departures of Aaron Cruden and coach Dave Rennie, Damian McKenzie will be a very good firstfive but he took time to find his feet at AMI Stadium.
He was better in the second half after a few early mistakes but at times stood a little deep on attack as he tried to regain his confidence. He is far better playing flat and trusting a similarly flat delivery and in Williams, Duffie, Rieko Ioane and Matt Duffie the Blues have the firepower to punish anything he does wrong.
Despite the leadership of an inform Sam Cane, the Chiefs panicked after conceding a penalty try late in the match which pushed the Crusaders out to a 33-23 lead — two more intercepts from the home side gave the final scoreline a flattering look but the victory was not undeserved.
For the Blues, Friday’s match will be their first at home since that magical night against the British and Irish Lions. If they play as they did in that 22-16 win, they will claim another significant scalp. They have the players and game plan to do it. Now they just need the execution.