Blues player ratings vs Hurricanes | Super Rugby Aotearoa
The Blues have snuck home over the Hurricanes at Eden Park in a round six clash of Super Rugby Aotearoa. It was a hard fought 27 -17 victory.
The Blues were aware after two losses their discipline needed to improve but errors were still there early like a nasty smell, with some poor passing and easy penalties provided for the Canes to stay within one point at halftime, a good result for them given that they too were not saintly; two yellow cards guzzling the petrol tanks of 14 men for 20 minutes.
At around 48 minutes the Blues started to make inroads into and through the Canes defensive line, made the most of the two chances they got in the next 15 minutes and won ugly.
Here’re the Blues’ ratings
1. Karl Tu’inukuafe – 6
Tough night for big Karl. Passed an HIA test at halftime but succumbed to a bang on the knee and off at 42.
2. Luteru Tolai – 4
Started with a stupid late charge on Campbell. As an ex-loose forward there’s no questioning his defence but compared with the other franchises, hooker is a weak area. Off at 62.
3. Ofa Tuungafasi – 7
Big fuss made at home for his 101st game for the Blues. Was one of the players who sparked the team with a series of carries around the 48 minute mark. Off at 57.
4. Sam Darry – 6
A good young player and an impressive sight when he’s leaping at the lineout. Some small errors; a little knock on in the air in the 13th minute and delivered a head high at 15. Held up at the maul at 53. Off at 62. Will be a valuable asset for the Blues in the years to come.
5. Gerard Cowley-Tuioti – 6.5
Got trapped in ruck and gave away the first points in the 26th minute. Loved his work before halftime running at the line and was always willing to carry.
6. Tom Robinson © – 6
Refused a penalty shot in the 9th minute to go for the corner and that led to his maul error on attack moments later. Good steal at the lineout at 47. Just looking at the dynamics in the team talks he wasn’t captain for his Churchillian speeches but leading from the front and firing up the energy and fizz, which he did well as usual.
7. Dalton Papalii – 8
With Sam Cane out Papalii is in the box seat to get some game time in the black jersey and he stayed prominent this week. Big red flags for the Canes as he came up with turnovers early on so they started running at him which upped his tackle count to the stratosphere again. Wasn’t lazy on the other side of the ball either, perhaps he could be the captain next time Paddy takes a spell?
8. Hoskins Sotutu – 7
His performance was a reflection of the Blues performance. Sotutu had his best period of the game at the end of the third quarter and the Blues scored the two tries they needed for the points. Also had a lovely turnover at 56 over Laumape. Off at 62.
The Blues have got their Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign back on track with a 27-17 victory over the Hurricanes at Eden Park in Auckland. Here's how the visitors rated:#SuperRugbyAotearoa #BLUvHUR https://t.co/39ijS2YzgC
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 3, 2021
9. Sam Nock – 6
Good cover tackle on Rayasi in the 14th minute. Another wayward box kick at 41 and that could have been the moment when the coaches decided on a change.
10. Otere Black – 6.5
Good Aussie Rules jump to deny Julian Savea at 15 minutes, got smashed by Kirifi at a ruck. Tends to stay in the pocket a lot but showed at 64 minutes what he could do on the front foot when he hit a ball over the back of the lineout hard.
11.Caleb Clarke – 5.5
Nice to see him looking for work down the right in the 18th minute. It seems not to be going his way this season and frustration led to poor hands, he knocked one into touch then another off a kickoff in the 33rd minute. Off at 75 and needs to look at adding to his armory on attack. Big pumping thighs are not providing the same dividends this season.
12. TJ Faiane – 7
Provided some more starch in midfield, lovely series of hits around the 34 minute mark. Got a well-deserved try at 50 minutes running off Perofeta. The backline seems much more balanced with him in midfield. Off at 66.
13. Rieko Ioane – 6
Quiet night for Rieko. Highlight was a classic centre’s run (around a forward for sure) at 64 minutes and pop a lovely ball to Telea for try three.
14. Mark Telea- 6.5
Busy start, nice streak down the wing in 3rd minute then smashed Leger moments later amd caused a Hurricanes knock on at the back of the ruck. Continued to add to attacks and was on his wing for the finish to the Blues final try.
15. Stephen Perofeta – 7.5
The Blues needed him to step into more playmaking with no Plummer around and he seemed to relish the balance of playing in the backfield and adding to attacks in the line. It wasn’t all positive, his woes continued defending first out at set piece early with Rayasi in the 14th minute, a forward pass at 22 but the highlight was the line break at 50 to set up Faiane for a crucial try. Off at 54 with an HIA test but returned at 66 with energy.
The Blues have survived a late Hurricanes fightback to emerge victorious in a 27-17 win to reignite their Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign. #SuperRugbyAotearoa #BLUvHUR https://t.co/zgdlfX7cKb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 3, 2021
Reserves:
16. Leni Apisai- N/A
On at 62. Has a very unusual style in open play, I liken it to drunken kung fu.
17. Alex Hodgman – 6
On at 42. Quick hands in the pod more than once but the core role didn’t go so well. Penalised at 55 and 75 at the scrum so work to do there.
18. Nepo Laulala – 5.5
On at 57. Banged his head at 59 but was solid.
19. Josh Goodhue – N/A
On at 62.
20. Akira Ioane – 6.5
On at 62. Good defence early but had his pocket picked at the scrum at 71. Good ball and all lifting tackle to snuff the Canes challenge out moments later.
21. Jonathan Ruru – 6.5
On at 42 and offside straight away. Great tackle on Julian Savea as the Bus got to top speed heading for the tryline. Good height to his box kicks made them more effective. Was a good option for this grinding game.
22. Harry Plummer N/A
On at 54 for an HIA test. Dodgy mou, befitting of an 80s traffic cop but looked solid.
23. AJ Lam – N/A
On at 75. Big first tackle on Goosen but no real chances.
Comments on RugbyPass
We had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to comments