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Blues edge Highlanders in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman final to end 18-year title drought

(Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

The Blues captured their first Super Rugby title in 18 years by beating the Highlanders 23-15 in an all-New Zealand final of this season’s trans-Tasman tournament.

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Blake Gibson’s try three minutes from the end clinched the win after the Highlanders, trailing 13-6 at halftime, rallied with three penalties in seven minutes to lead 15-13 after 66 minutes.

A penalty to replacement flyhalf Harry Plummer gave the Blues the lead again in the 70th minute and Gibson’s try, after a break from No.8 Hoskins Sotutu, sealed the win when Plummer’s conversion created an eight-point margin.

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Time ran out for a Highlanders’ comeback and the Blues celebrated in front of a home crowd of 36,000 at Auckland’s Eden Park.

“This is a weight off our shoulders,” the Blues’ All Blacks backrower Dalton Papalii said.

“To be honest, we had a tough start in Super Rugby Aotearoa but we had a second chance at a bit of silverware and to come away with a win like that … it just g oes to show we believed in ourselves.

“When we had to dig deep, we trusted each other and we trusted the process and we came out on top.”

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The Blues won Super Rugby in 1996, rugby’s first year as a professional sport, again the following year and for a third time in 2003.

But the years since have been lean for New Zealand’s largest and richest franchise, which has become a graveyard for coaches as it fruitlessly pursued a fourth crown.

Each of the Blues’ four New Zealand rivals has enjoyed Super Rugby success since 2003; the Crusaders six times, the Chiefs twice, the Hurricanes once, and the Highlanders when they won the full four-nation tournament in 2014.

The Blues again came up short of the final in this season’s New Zealand domestic tournament – Super Rugby Aotearoa.

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But they won all five matches against Australian opponents in the regular season of the trans-Tasman competition to reach the final which they won by two tries to nil.< /p>

“It’s a pretty surreal feeling to have a full E den Park like this. It brought us home,” Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu said.

“This is something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time and we’ve got to enjoy it.”

Blues 23 (Tries to Mark Telea and Blake Gibson; 2 conversions and two penalties to Otere Black, penalty to Harry Plummer)

Highlanders 15 (4 penalties to Mitch Hunt, penalty to Josh Ioane; yellow card to Ash Dixon)

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PM 45 minutes ago
Why Henry Pollock's x-factor could earn him a Lions Test start

Nick,

I am a long suffering England fan, who has had to endure watching 4 years of dull rugby, poor selections and painful defeats. Steve Borthwick talks about GPS and picks squads by numbers and then we put in a poor performance on the pitch - it’s been a consistent trend.


Something changed in the Six Nations and we totally changed our style (literally overnight) and played some really good footie, which finally felt like positive rugby for a change.


Genge has regained his pore-Covid form and is looking back to his best and is head and shoulders above Porter.


Chessum has had a good year and hasn’t played a poor International game this season.


Tom Curry was outstanding in the 6 Nations but they have been playing him at 6, wheras he is better at 7 and is lethal at the breakdown.


Tom Willis was brought into the starting team at 8 and has been one of the best England players over the last year, who should have been on this Lions tour at 8. Earl had his best game since 2020 last week - not sure 1 game warrants Lions selection over a poor combination side and he is certainly second choice for his club 7 country behind Willis.


Pollock will be a good player but like all young emerging players, he is inconsistent and can go quiet in games, which is why Curry should be the starter at 7. He brings energy to games, which is why he is good from the bench but there is an argument to say he is the 5th best England openside (Curry x2, Underhill & Earl are currently better) but will improve over the next 5 years. We just need to stop the media building him up for a fall, let him play and develop and you will see a sensational Henry Pollock for the Lions in 4 years time.


Lions will be too powerful over 80 mins, so doesn’t really matter who they pick. Just please don’t put too much hype on Pollock. His 20 mins of International rugby going into this tour were positive but the media caused a frenzy and no other player would be selected on this basis.


Let’s enjoy the rugby and give Pollock the space and time he requires.

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LONG READ Why Henry Pollock's x-factor could earn him a Lions Test start Why Henry Pollock's x-factor could earn him a Lions Test start