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All Black Caleb Clarke benched for Blues’ blockbuster clash with Reds
All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke will look to add impact off the bench on Saturday night when the Blues take on the Queensland Reds in a blockbuster Trans-Tasman clash in Brisbane.
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Clarke, 25, was put on “lighter duties” earlier this week and will come off the pine as a result as the high-flying Blues look to remain within touching distance of the undefeated Hurricanes.
The Aucklanders are second on the Super Rugby Pacific standings after registering a statement 46-7 win over the then-third-placed Brumbies at Eden Park last Saturday.
Vern Cotter’s men have not been beaten in almost 50 days, with their sole loss of the campaign coming against the table-toppers at the nation’s capital on March 9th.
Looking to extend their winning streak to what would be six matches, the Blues face a tough challenge in the Reds. Queensland got the better of the Highlanders 31-nil last time out.
“We’re under no illusion as to how difficult it’s going to be to play them up there in Queensland,” coach Vern Cotter said in a statement.
“All we want from our boys is consistent effort, attitude and habits; and each week is a good test of those characteristics for us as a team.”
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Akira Ioane is unavailable after staying back in Auckland before the birth of his first child. Anton Segner comes into the run-on side while there is a potential debutant on the bench.
James Thompson has been named in the No.20 jumper ahead of a potential debut. Sam Darry also returns to the First XV after coming off the bench against the Brumbies.
Head-to-Head
Last 5 Meetings
Wins
1
Draws
0
Wins
4
Average Points scored
28
40
First try wins
80%
Home team wins
40%
The rest of the starting side remains relatively consistent other than some minor tweaks to the front row with Angus Ta’avao and Soane Vikena getting the nod.
Captain Patrick Tuipulotu partners Sam Darry in the middle row, while Anton Segner, Dalton Papali’i and in-form No.8 Hoskins Sotutu round out a menacing forward pack.
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Taufa Funaki and Harry Plummer retain their spots in the halves with Finlay Christie (groin) and Stephen Perofeta (shoulder) still out of action due to injury layoffs.
Bryce Heem joins All Black Rieko Ioane in the midfield, while Mark Tele’a, AJ Lam and Cole Forbes line up in the outside backs.
Lam replaces Caleb Clarke on the wing, with Vern Cotter explaining that selection comes down to the All Black’s calf.
“Caleb’s been on lighter duties to start the week to give his calf a rest,” Cotter explained. “AJ’s been playing well, and this is an opportunity for him to start the game.”
The Blues’ two-game road trip across the ditch gets underway on Saturday when they take on the Queensland Reds at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium at 9:35 pm NZT.
They fly out of Auckland on Thursday.
Blues team to take on Queensland Reds
- Ofa Tu’ungafasi
- Soane Vikena
- Angus Ta’avao
- Patrick Tuipulotu (c)
- Sam Darry
- Anton Segner
- Dalton Papali’i
- Hoskins Sotutu
- Taufa Funaki
- Harry Plummer
- Mark Tele’a
- Bryce Heem
- Rieko Ioane
- AJ Lam
- Cole Forbes
Reserves
- Kurt Eklund
- Joshua Fusitu’a
- Marcel Renata
- Laghlan McWhannell
- James Thompson*
- Sam Nock
- Corey Evans
- Caleb Clarke
*Potential debut
Players not considered: Stephen Perofeta (shoulder), Finlay Christie (groin), Zarn Sullivan (knee), Rob Rush (calf), Cam Suafoa (sickness), Akira Ioane (paternity leave)
Comments on RugbyPass
The Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
2 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
2 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
2 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
2 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to comments