Blues fans, this isn’t a dream
Tortured Blues fans would be forgiven for feeling the need to occasionally pinch themselves the past couple days.
No, Friday night’s 33-26 win against the Highlanders at Eden Park was not some far-fetched dream. It was as real as it gets.
To think it was their first Super Rugby scalp against a fellow New Zealand team in 20 matches, a heinous run which started after they beat the Highlanders in the opening round of the 2016 season.
Want to bury an unwanted streak? Book a date with the Highlanders. Remember, it was also the southerners who coughed up the 40-match winning streak for Kiwi teams against their Australian foes, when they were belted by the Waratahs in Sydney last May.
While Blues backs Rieko Ioane and Melani Nanai received much of the praise after the win, rookie loose forward Tom Robinson warrants plenty himself. He was into everything and is without a doubt the form blindside flanker in the country.
Only time will tell if the
Blues have turned a corner. To do so they will need to find a way to address first-five eighth Harry
Plummer’s shaky start to the season. He’s lacking in confidence and his goalkicking is suffering.
As for the Highlanders, there are some serious questions over Aaron Mauger’s group, who have not won since sneaking past the Reds in round two.
They struggled to create anything with ball in hand, they make the same mistakes week after week, and once majestic wing Waisake Naholo’s lack of form is eye-popping.
On the subject of eye-popping, what about the Chiefs’ 56-20 mauling of the Bulls in Pretoria yesterday?
Kudos to any soul who saw the previously winless side heading to one of the toughest venues and nabbing maximum points to haul themselves off the bottom of the ladder.
It was the Chiefs’ first win in Pretoria since 2001. Solomon Alaimalo, Alex Nankivell and Brodie Retallick helped themselves to doubles in the romp.
Another lengthy streak ended on Saturday night, when the reigning champion Crusaders’ 20-match unbeaten run was halted by the Waratahs in Sydney.
Renowned for their ability to play in wet conditions, the Crusaders were uncharacteristically poor in the 20-12 defeat, making 18 handling errors. No wonder captain Sam Whitelock said they were their ‘‘own worst enemy’’ after their first loss in more than a year.
The Crusaders were desperate to perform for their fans in their first match since the Christchurch terrorist attack, but did not even salvage a losing bonus point after Mitch Hunt hooked a lastditch conversion attempt.
They will get another shot on Friday when they renew their rivalry with the Hurricanes.
The winner will go clear in the competition standings. Both teams have 19 heading into the fixture, but the Crusaders remain first due to a superior points differential.
Hurricanes fans had to sweat through a narrow 34-28 win against the physically imposing Stormers in Wellington on Saturday. The Stormers had multiple chances to snatch the match down the stretch, but the rolling maul which threatened to flatten the Hurricanes in the first half was nowhere to be seen.
There were also plenty of rolling mauls in Singapore yesterday, when Lions hooker Malcolm Marx twice scored via their go-to weapon in their 37-24 win against the Sunwolves.
It shot the losing finalists of the last three years to the top of the South African conference with 18 points, although the Sharks (15 points), who have a game in hand, are arguably playing better football.
Their 28-14 win against the Rebels in Durban marked the Australia side’s second straight loss, surely enough to silence the premature chat around the Melbourne-based side after they opened with three wins on the bounce.
The Reds beat the Brumbies 36-14 in the final game of the round yesterday.