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'Blues have been worse as the season has gone on': Fans left to question what went wrong as realisation sets in that this isn't their year

By Sam Smith
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

A 29-6 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch has ended the Blues season with one round to play in Super Rugby Aotearoa 2021.

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Sitting five competition points behind the second-place Chiefs, even a bonus point win won’t propel the Blues into the final as the tiebreaker will fall the way of the Chiefs who have won more games.

After their resurgent season in 2020, the Blues season started hot with wins away over the Hurricanes and at home over the Highlanders, but faded away after losing their crunch match against the Crusaders at home at Eden Park.

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Since that loss, the Blues are 1-3 with only a lone win over the last-placed Hurricanes. They fell to the Chiefs in Hamilton when Damian McKenzie scored an 80th minute game-winning try, lost to the Highlanders away and now were comfortably beaten by the Crusaders.

This afternoon’s loss will be the final nail in the coffin but recent form suggested that this would be the case.

The Blues will review what resulted in a tryless performance under the stewardship of the new halves pairing Jonathan Ruru and Harry Plummer, who failed to really ignite the likes of Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane out wide.

The 9-10 combination were left clutching by Crusaders fullback Will Jordan who beat both of them, among five other Blues’ defenders, on the way to his first try.

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Otere Black, who has been the primary game driver for the Blues since last season, was injected late into the game along with reserve halfback Finlay Christie to no avail.

Also coming off the bench was Akira Ioane, who offered the Blues a spark having a hand in a number of breaks that weren’t finished off.

Fans were left to watch the Blues try hard but come up with a paltry two penalty goals, leaving many to question what had happened to the side that started the season.

One fan wrote ‘since the Blues lost the Crusaders at Eden park, it just hasn’t been the same from these boys’, another questioned if the Blues were once again ‘the worst team in New Zealand’.

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Another said ‘this is the same stuff from two years ago’ and that ‘today’s 9 through to 13 were absolutely average’.

With everything to play for in Christchurch, it seems puzzling that the first choice 10 was left on the bench, the best halfback Sam Nock was left completely out of the 23, and the damaging running of Akira Ioane wasn’t preferred in the starting side.

Particularly with the loss of captain Patrick Tuipulotu, the Blues didn’t make sure they had the most experience possible on the pitch.

The Blues’ best starter was undoubtedly Dalton Papalii, who was forced from the field with around ten minutes to go with an injury after winning three breakdown turnovers, 10 tackles and six carries. The co-captain was everywhere in trying to keep the scoreboard acceptable.

 

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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