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Blues player ratings vs Chiefs | Super Rugby Aotearoa
The Chiefs have beaten the Blues 15-12 in a major boilover in Hamilton as we reach the halfway mark in round robin play in Super Rugby Aotearoa 2021.
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The Blues only had themselves to blame; they produced error after error, turned down loads of chances for kickable penalties and only had a converted try to show for themselves at halftime. The Chiefs kept in touch and in the last minute Luke Jacobson and Damian McKenzie showed a couple of pieces of magic for a last gasp try, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Here’re the Blues’ ratings
1. Alex Hodgman – 5
Shaky at scrum but is one of the best clean out merchants in Super Rugby. Off at halftime.
2. Luteru Tolai – 4
Toiled manfully but the Blues have a weakness at hooker compared with the other franchises. Off at 55.
3. Nepo Laulala– 4.5
Gleefully met Kaleb Trask down a dark alley in the 5th minute and smashed him. Aidan Ross had the better of him at the scrum, obviously having learnt a stack in Chiefs’ training from previous seasons! Off at halftime.
4. Patrick Tuipulotu – 6
Had a good night at line out time and was a venomous defender. The second row for the Blues should be part of any scrumming review as the Chiefs fielded two relative lightweights at lock but the visitors never took advantage of that. And the lack of taking penalty shots in the first half was a major talking point which Paddy will have to answer for.
5. Josh Goodhue – 5
Managed to get back and close down a Chiefs attack after Taukei’aho’s run in the 8th minute. Spilt two line out takes and off at halftime.
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6. Akira Ioane – 5
Is in the middle of a form dip but had the temerity to pick up the AB captain and hold him in the air in the 13th minute. It took 24 minutes but Akira was the man to break the deadlock in the trenches with a try. Off at 51. Robinson is pushing him for a start.
7. Dalton Papalii – 8
He was in the driver’s seat for player of the match til the last minute when he was bettered by Dmac on his way to the line. Other than that, he was inspiring. Had 50% more tackles than anyone else from either team, 6 turnovers with some amazing ball and all tackles. Great pass to Robinson for his try and unlucky to be denied a try from a line out.
8. Hoskins Sotutu – 6.5
Top carries for his team. Lack of front row dominance gave him a rough ride at the back of the scrum. Doesn’t seem to have the exuberance and confidence he showed last year but he is classy player.
9. Finlay Christie – 6
Good to see a Blues halfback with speed, Nock has shown glimpses of what this can do in recent seasons but Christie is the real deal. Cover tackles aplenty as well. Off at 51.
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10. Otere Black – 5
Average night from the tee and positional kicking wasn’t great. Strong tackle on Wainui in the 34th minute. Error at the back in 55th minute knocking the ball out.
11.Caleb Clarke – 6
Reasonable numbers but not humming at the level of 2020.
12. Harry Plummer – 5
Missed Tupaea in 11th minute and was a little off his game from the highs in the past fortnight. Off at 55 with Faiane snapping at his heels.
13. Rieko Ioane – 7
Tried to take Tupaea’s head off first up, but the Mighty Quinn got him back moments later for Cane to get a turnover. Tracked down Weber in the 39th minute and spent the match leading the attack with most metres and defending his channel defiantly.
14. Mark Telea- 5.5
Pacey tear down the right-wing in the 30th although Ta’avao stayed with him for a while! Not a bad outing after his break.
With the Chiefs down 7-0 at the time, fullback Damian McKenzie made an impressive try-saving tackle on Blues winger Mark Telea.#SuperRugbyAotearoa #CHIvBLU https://t.co/e82bisCEgf
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 27, 2021
15. Stephen Perofeta – 6
Got involved this week, busy at the back and in the line with continuity. Defending at first five he saw a load of traffic through his channels where the Chiefs had targeted him and Plummer. Did well to deny ALB in the in-goal in 53rd minute.
Reserves:
You’re at fullback, Tom Robinson has a full head of steam up, what’re you doing?#SuperRugbyAotearoa
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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 27, 2021
16. Leni Apisai- N/A
On at 55.
17. Karl Tu’inukuafe – 5.5
On halftime. Couldn’t really improve the scrum.
18. Ofa Tuungafasi – 6.5
On at halftime for his 100th match. Lovely man unless you have the ball. The bones certainly shudder when he tackles you. Eventually got the scrum going once Ross went off.
19. Gerard Cowley-Tuioti 6
On halftime. Great work rate and direct running.
20. Tom Robinson – 7
On at 51. Wonderful dart down the right flank to score the try which got the Blues in front. …for a while……
21. Adrian Choat – N/A
22. Jonathan Ruru 6
On at 51. Collected some admiration from Justin Marshall which is not a surprise as he’s a very similar player with the three step and pass technique. Brave turnover in 68th minute.
23. TJ Faiane – 6
On at 55. Tackled his heart out and filled the gaping holes in midfield.
Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
13 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
13 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
13 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to comments