Blues vs Crusaders takes: Blues’ missing piece, Uncharacteristic Crusaders

A big weekend of sport in Auckland continued with an important Super Rugby Pacific clash, where the Crusaders and the Blues battled it out at Eden Park.

The Blues, who lost a close contest against the Brumbies in round three, bounced back with a crucial win against one of their biggest rivals, 29-13.

All Blacks first-five Beauden Barrett made an impact in his first appearance of the season, while a hat-trick from Caleb Clarke helped the Blues earn their second win of the season.

Rob Penney’s Crusaders never really got going with ball in hand, with key fullback Will Jordan missing from their backline.

Here are some takeaways from Eden Park.

What the Blues have been missing 

Blues playmaker Stephen Perofeta is no slouch, but Saturday night’s contest at Eden Park showcased the class of 144-Test All Black Beauden Barrett.

It only took Barrett a couple of touches inside the opening ten minutes to stamp his mark on the round four matchup, highlighting what the Blues have been missing.

The Blues had front foot ball just inside the Crusaders’ half in the fourth minute when Barrett saw the space down the opposite side of the field. Barrett swung round the left side, weighed up his options and fired a bullet to Pita Ahki who had the simple job of shifting onto Caleb Clarke.

Only minutes later, Barrett had the ball deep in the Blues’ attacking shape down the left-hand touchline. Like a top-level NFL quarterback, Barrett picked his pass perfectly, sending Zarn Sullivan through a huge gap in the Crusaders defence. Sullivan then had the easy job of gifting Clarke his second try of the evening.

It’s the little parts of the game, too. Barrett’s astute kicking game often got the Blues out of the trouble deep in their own half, and his kicking off the tee was solid all things considered.

Defensive woes for the Crusaders

It’s not often a Crusaders team struggle to stop teams from scoring tries at will, but the round four clash against the Blues wasn’t their best defensive showing.

Rob Penney’s side shipped 50 against the Brumbies in round two, before 33 against the Chiefs, albeit in a ten-point victory.

The second half was slightly different, but they were unable to stop the Blues on enough occasions.

Blues must fix their discipline 

Pre-game, the Blues were at the top of the leaderboard in one stat for all of the wrong reasons. They were the most penalised side in the competition, which is never a good sign four rounds in.

Saturday night was no different, with discipline the only real negative to come out of the first half for the home side. Clarke gambled on a long cut-out ball, resulting in a yellow card, while Torian Barnes could have gone to the bin.

The Crusaders took their chances in the final ten minutes of the first half, feeding off front foot ball after some ill-discipline started to haunt the home side.

Despite leading at half time, the Blues had conceded seven penalties, a yellow card, while the Crusaders had one penalty and one yellow card.

The screws were tightened in the second 40 minutes, but the Blues must improve on their discipline if they are to be title contenders.

Solid first start 

Welcome to Super Rugby Pacific, Codemeru Vai.

The former All Blacks Sevens speedster is no stranger to big occasions and important moments, but his brilliance in the first half was special.

There was one unfortunate moment, where he hesitated in the back-field which led to a Crusaders try, but his attack on the other hand, was exceptional.

Vai was held up, but the signs were there. The right-winger then held his width minutes later, where Barrett saw the space on Vai’s side of the field. The kick found the grass, before Vai acrobatically reeled it in and planted it in the corner.

Vai’s second half started with some mixed moments, but his catch-and-pass in the 48th minute set up Clarke’s hat-trick.

Don’t forget about me

In the midst of Highlanders winger Caleb Tangitau banging the door down with his star performances for the boys from the deep-south, All Black winger Caleb Clarke was keen to impress new national team head coach, Dave Rennie.

There will be some worries about his ill-discipline with attempting intercepts, but there’s no doubt Clarke’s finishing ability is among the best in the competition, if not the world.

Every time the Blues went down the left-hand touchline, Clarke was either going over for a five-pointer or beating a couple of defenders to get over the gain line.