Canes and Blues counting down to seismic matchup
Who ya got? The slick, quick, new-look Hurricanes who have yet to drop a game or the well-oiled Blues machine that has rumbled into ominous form? As Super Rugby Pacific’s top two sides roll towards a seismic May 11 matchup in Auckland, it is almost impossible to separate them on form.
You could say it’s set to be unstoppable force meeting immovable object. Something has to give, but picking which side yield is problematic. They’ve both been very, very good in 2024, with the unbeaten Hurricanes edging the body of work thus far courtesy of their round 3 29-21 victory over the Blues in Wellington, where a late penalty miss by the visitors could yet prove costly when all is said and done.
The Canes, of course, are 8-0 and five points clear of their Auckland rivals atop the standings on 37 points. The Blues, at 7-1, have won five straight since that Cake Tin crumble and have been especially impressive the last month as they’ve despatched the Brumbies, Force, Moana Pasifika and Crusaders by a combined 169-24, 24 tries to just two
What’s more, they both prepare for May 11 with a pair of Aussie shakedowns – the Canes at the Brumbies, then at home against the Waratahs; and the Blues spending the next 10 days at the Reds and Rebels.
Dig a little deeper into their success and it gets even tougher to separate them. Last round the Canes went into the Suva hotbed, played a spell with 13 amid three yellow cards, and still cruised to a 38-15 victory over the Drua. You simply don’t do that unless you are something special.
Just 24 hours later the Blues welcomed an intimidating Brumbies outfit, at 6-1 and riding a five-game win streak, to Eden Park and sat them on their backsides with a seven-try 46-7 hammering. Ditto the special bit.
The Canes have been slightly better over the season on attack, with 300 points scored (the Blues have 273) and the Auks have had the steelier defence – just 102 points conceded, against the Canes’ 156. The Hurricanes have scored 43 tries and conceded 21; the Blues 40 and 13.
Both have also been building promising depth as injuries have forced their pair of first-year coaches (another similarity) to dig deep at times, and both have unearthed some big-time movers. It’s likely that Ruben Love, Billy Proctor, Josh Moorby, Brayden Iose, Peter Lakai and even Xavier Numia and Kini Naholo are playing their way into All Black contention off their Canes feats; while the Blues have Hoskins Sotutu, Caleb Clarke, Dalton Papali’i and Ofa Tu’ungafasi in career-best form, Mark Tele’a keeping on keeping on, Patrick Tuipulotu back to his muscular best and unheralded types like Laghlan McWhannell, Harry Plummer, Taufa Funaki and Cole Forbes playing the house down.
There is a lot to like on both the yellow and blue sides of the equation, and the intriguing part is going to be whether both coaches can sustain this heady mid-season form when it matters most.
Watching types have been impressed. Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham reckoned the Canes held a slight attacking edge, but noted the continuity factor and hard edge up front that made the Blues so effective and daunting.
Former All Black Jeff Wilson lauded the “clarity” with which the Blues were operating, as evidenced by them outplaying the Brumbies at their forte –the lineout-drive.
“They know exactly who they are and what they are,” added Wilson. “Tuipulotu is the heart and soul of that pack and when he plays they’re a different beast at gain-line and carry. And their backline is making really good decisions around the great work being done inside. They’re a contender, and have been a contender for a few years now.”
Fellow ex-All Black Justin Marshall agreed: “They knew the zones to attack the Brumbies in, and that reeks of really good coaching and understanding. They are very well drilled, very methodical and a force to be reckoned with.”
Wilson was equally impressed with the Canes in Fiji. “It was a really important win for them. To go down to 13 and not concede points … that was scramble defence and finding ways to stay in the contest. And the composure later, with Jordie [Barrett] kicking that penalty from 40m to ice it … it’s all you want from a group rotating players.”
Both teams will assuredly spend the next fortnight trying to avoid thinking, and talking, about each other.
“We’re focusing on what we’re trying to develop,” said Cotter at training yesterday. “They’ve got their stuff going really well and at the moment you would say they’re favourites going into the end of the season. We just sit back quietly and get on with our work. We know we’ve got to get better, and that’s going to be important towards the end.”
Or, as skipper Tuipulotu slyly noted, the best is very much still to come. “I think we’ve got a few levels to go to. We can be confident in what we’ve done, but there’s a lot more potential there. We’ve got to keep our feet on the ground.”
Two teams not only playing well, but building beautifully. Do not be surprised if May 11 is not their final meeting for 2024.*