Cortez Ratima wins it for Chiefs in gritty Blues encounter

Eden Park hosted a rusty season-opening affair for the Blues and Chiefs on Saturday evening, with points hard to come by and plenty of grit required.

The Chiefs had their backs against the wall with a late Zarn Sullivan penalty, but the All Blacks they brought into the game off the bench were up to the task and provided the game-winning moment needed.

The first chance to score points came in the third minute when the Blues were penalised in their own half, but Josh Jacomb missed the kick from 40 metres out on a mild angle. Stephen Perofeta followed suit shortly after with a missed effort from an even friendlier position.

It was an inaccurate start to the game, with neither side executing cleanly in any area. The scrums and lineouts resulted in penalties, open play lasted only so many phases, and contestable kicks led to unstructured lines.

The Blues flirted with the try line in the 20th minute, but were held up. The Chiefs had a chance of their own in the 28th minute, but the cross-field kick went long.

A Josh Jacomb 50/22 put the Chiefs back in striking position, and Tupou Vaa’i dived over the defensive line to score a peculiar try.

A Bradley Slater steal ignited the Blues’ attack a minute after play resumed, with Finlay Christie’s playmaking putting Caleb Clarke into space and an offload to Zarn Sullivan seeing the fullback stride through a gap to score the first Blues points of the season.

Kaylum Boshier was handed a yellow card for shoulder-to-head contact with Josh Fusitu’a in the 38th minute, but the Blues couldn’t take advantage ahead of the halftime break due to Quinn Tupaea winning a breakdown penalty.

A poor night off the tee from both kickers saw the halftime score remain 5-5.

After a hint of exciting play late in the first half, the second half offered a slight improvement in execution.

The Chiefs were forced to defend more, and the Blues started to play more in the right areas of the field, applying pressure.

It was in the 52nd minute when Blues captain Dalton Papali’i turned pressure into points, powering over the line from close range. The Blues changed kickers, with Zarn Sullvian finally sending the ball between the uprights.

The Chiefs went close to a response in the corner shortly after play resumed, but were denied by Finlay Christie winning the race to the grubber. The Hamilton-based outfit were back, knocking on the door minutes later, and this time Samisoni Taukei’aho was good enough to power over the line, tying the scores once more.

A Chiefs penalty within a minute of the kickoff, however, allowed Sullivan to regain the lead for the Blues with another three points.

Time was ticking on the Chiefs, and Samipeni Finau had the idea to run it straight and broke the line. Two offloads later, Cortez Ratima was in the clear and galloping over the try line.

Play opened up as desperation entered the game in thedying minutes, and Sam Nock was caught cutting corners in an attempt to win back possession, resulting in a yellow card for the halfback. The final whistle soon came, and the 19-15 scoreline in the Chiefs’ favour was cemented.