Blues player ratings vs Highlanders | Super Rugby Aotearoa
The Blues returned to play in steamy Auckland for the first time in 2021, following a bye-week and a stay in the Waikato countryside because of the Covid lockdown.
The Highlanders were one and one after a defeat against the Crusaders and a comeback victory in Chiefs’ territory. Aaron Smith returned to the starting lineup as captain, with Ash Dixon on the bench.
Lock Sam Darry was given his maiden cap on the virgin turf at Eden Park as the Blues flexed their considerable muscles across the field to hammer the Southern men 39-17 to retain the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy.
Here are the Blues’ ratings
1. Karl Tu’inukuafe – 6.5/10
Didn’t have things all his own way against Siate Tokolahi. Penalised in the 33rd minute at scrum time but was a busy tackler and still has a perfect moustache. Off shortly after halftime.
2. Luteru Tolai – 5.5
Got his chance to start and was impressive early on. Made an aggressive first tackle on Frizell and secured a good turnover in the 5th minute to set up a line out attack. Missed a gimme try, dropped the ball when over the line in the 38th minute following a lineout drive. Off in the 48th minute.
3. Ofa Tuungafasi – 7
Earnt the first scrum penalty at the 14th minute vs de Groot. Must be the biggest close-quarter hitter in Aotearoa, absolutely buried a couple of Highlander runners two minutes before halftime. Off shortly after halftime.
4. Patrick Tuipulotu – 6.5
Had the first and last say for his team in the first half. Got up to whack the catcher from kickoff and closed things off with a lineout steal. 11 big tackles and off at the 62nd minute to rapturous applause from Blues supporters.
5. Sam Darry – 7
Great debut from the lanky lad. Little knock-on in the 7th minute from an attacking line out but got into his stride with a charge down on Nareki in the 25th. A great set of tackles around the 55-minute mark probably persuaded the coaching staff to keep him on.
6. Akira Ioane – 8
Mature performance from the loosie, it’s hard to believe he hasn’t been a 6 for too long. Two lineout takes early and made a great run down the right wing then threw an in-field pass to his brother which seemed to be kosher – the ball seemed to go backwards from the hand – but the refs thought otherwise. Good turnover in the 62nd, then a minute later was rewarded with a try.
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7. Dalton Papalii – 7.5
What an athlete, it’s a real shame he probably won’t be able to take on the Crusaders next week. Bundled out down the right wing in the 24th minute, secured an outstanding turnover in the 34th on Jona Nareki which led to the Ioane brothers’ almost-try. Superhero tackle on Connor Garden-Bachop in the 40th to close down an attack. Received a nasty bump on the head in the 47th and couldn’t pass the HIA after a game-high tackle count.
8. Hoskins Sotutu – 7
Seeing some glimpses of magic over the 80 minutes. Came to life in the 24th minute with a break past Josh Dickson. Then after Frizell smashed into him (Sotutu was eventually penalised for obstruction) in the 60th, we saw him feature out wide and he finished on a high.
9. Jonathan Ruru – 7
Has become fit and agile but we saw his strength too, coming from behind the defensive line with two brilliant turnovers in the 45th and 47th minutes. Also took a lineout ball.
10. Otere Black – 7.5
Almost expect him to be dressed in a black suit with a baton the way he conducts this orchestra. A good reward for following up on the inside to grab an early try. Even made a tough cleanout in the 26th minute on attack.
11. Caleb Clarke – 7
Delivered a nasty rib rattler on Ngatungane Punivai to snuff out an attack in 13th minute and had an easy finish in 18th minute. Top metres for the match.
12. Harry Plummer – 8
Got himself well and truly into the game with influential plays on attack and offered up some stiff defence. Seems to be growing in confidence in being able to handle the physical questions asked of a 12, nice arrow-straight run to set up the Clarke try. He brought down Nareki in the 34th minute with the tackle that eventually saw the Highlanders star out of the match which also led to a handy turnover. Had a hand in two second-half tries, an astute skip pass to Perofeta for the Narawa try and in the 64th, gave a nice ball off the ground to Akira Ioane.
13. Rieko Ioane – 6.5
Has danger written all over him but some of those small errors coming into his game must be as frustrating for him as it is the fans. Any fluffing of chances next week against the champions will be costly. Fluffed his difficult first opportunity, a knock-on with the line beckoning. Some nice last passes to Black and Clarke for tries but dropped two balls cold in the 26th and 31st minutes on attack.
14. Mark Telea- 5
Minimal action before he came away limping in the clash that also cost Jona Nareki his afternoon. Subbed at halftime.
15. Stephen Perofeta – 6
Did what was required at the back in his team’s dominance. Nice work in the midfield to set up the first try in 10th minute.
A tough afternoon for the men from the South at Eden Park. #BLUvHIG #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/8ujV9OxeDp
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 14, 2021
Reserves:
16. Kurt Eklund – 6.5
On at 48 and scored a gift lineout maul try. You’d have to imagine he’ll be back to take on Codie Taylor next week.
17. James Lay – 5.5
On at 47 and maintained scrum domination. Pinged for offside in the 53rd minute.
18. Nepo Laulala – 6
On at 47. His first scrum forced a penalty. Will be an interesting call on who gets the start next week.
19. Gerard Cowley-Tuioti – N/A
On at 62.
20. Tom Robinson – 6
On at 47 and flung himself around with gay abandon.
21. Sam Nock– 4.5
On at 54. Points off for the blond mullet trying to out Little Bo Peep Fakatava. A yellow card in the 70th. Has given up ground to Ruru.
22. Tanielu Tele’a – 5
On at 67. His missed tackle on Garden-Bachop led to the Fakatava try.
23. Emoni Narawa – 7
On at halftime and did very well. Has so much pace to burn, it was eye-opening to see him squeeze in on D more than once and lope over to cover after giving up loads of space on the outside. His first touch was to stroll through for the try. One more swift run in the 64th minute led to the Akira try.
Comments on RugbyPass
It couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments