Blues player ratings vs Moana Pasifika | Super Rugby Pacific
The Blues made it back-to-back wins over Moana Pasifika in the space of the week when they defeated their cross-town rivals 46-16 at Eden Park on Saturday.
Here’s how they rated:
1. Alex Hodgman – 7
Showed some attacking skill to break the line and get an offload away to Finlay Christie in the lead-up to Corey Evans’ try. Muscled up well at scrum time. Off in the 52nd minute.
2. Kurt Eklund – 8
Was the rock of a powerful Blues front row that acquitted themselves well at scrum time. Picked off a Christian Leali’ifano pass early in the second half. Burrowed over for a well-taken try from the back of a rolling maul near the end of the first half, and did the same on the other side of the break. Capped his game off with a third rolling maul try, becoming the first Blues hooker in history to complete a hat-trick. Off in the 67th minute.
3. Marcel Renata – 7.5
Added to his side’s hefty penalty count inside the opening few minutes when he incorrectly entered a ruck. Got the better of Ezekiel Lindenmuth at a scrum shortly afterwards, though, forcing a turnover out of his ex-teammate. Wasn’t the only time he impressed at the scrum. Deft inside ball to Hodgman set his propping partner away for a line break that eventually led to Evans’ try. Overall, a very good performance. Off in the 52nd minute.
4. James Tucker – 6.5
Defended stoutly, got through the dirty work and was of good value at the lineout in a workmanlike 80-minute showing.
5. Sam Darry – 7
Got up well to snatch a steal at an early lineout. Good support play to help instigate Evans’ try. Acted as his side’s chief lineout target right up until he was benched. Off in the 51st minute.
6. Cam Suafoa – 6
Did his best to disrupt Moana Pasifika’s lineout and showed some good handling skills in general play. Off in the 62nd minute.
7. Dalton Papalii (c) – 6
Pinged for for two breakdown infringement inside the first few minutes, the second of which cost his side three points. Conceded another breakdown-related penalty early in the second half. Strong piece of defence to prevent Solomone Funaki from scoring while his side were down to 14 men and topped the match’s tackle count with 14, but will want to eradicate his ill-discipline.
8. Anton Segner – 6
Had a decent wee burst upfield early in the second half. Scrambled well to ground the ball inside his own in-goal area when Moana Pasifika. Completed all eight of his tackle attempts.
9. Finlay Christie – 7.5
Great support play and quick distribution skills were crucial to the way in which his side attacked. Provided lots of energy and impetus, as any good halfback should. Fortunate not to have had a long range pass intercepted inside his own in-goal area. Off in the 54th minute.
10. Stephen Perofeta – 6.5
Kicked well out of hand. Would say the same about his goal-kicking had he not rattled the upright twice in the opening stanza and missed a third shot in the second half. A wonderful short ball to his inside put Caleb Clarke over for his try. Had a few flashy touches, but inexplicably dropped the ball cold from a re-start, with the loose pill scooped up by Bryce Heem, who was in an offside position and subsequently gift-wrapped three points for Moana Pasifika. Was otherwise quite tidy, aside from one missed touch-finder from a penalty.
11. Caleb Clarke – 4
Was mostly quiet in the first quarter, but was on hand to score in the 21st minute. That was rendered redundant, though, after he was upended in a terribly innocuous mid-air collisions with Tomasi Alosio, which resulted in the Moana Pasifika wing being forced from the field and Clarke being red carded. A highly dubious call that won’t come without scrutiny in the coming days.
12. Corey Evans – 7.5
Spotted a gap and took it well to stroll over for his first Super Rugby Pacific try in the first half. Continued to look threatening with ball in hand as the half wore on. Good showing by the rookie. Off in the 54th minute.
13. Bryce Heem – 7
Bumped off with ease by Timoci Tavatavanawai inside the opening five minutes. Got revenge on Tavatavanawai on the stroke of half-time by skipping over the top of the winger to dot down right by the sticks. Picked off a wild cut out ball by Moana Pasifika to put his team on the front foot in the lead-up to Clarke’s try. Silly play to pick the ball up from an offside position after Perofeta knocked it on from a re-start.
14. AJ Lam – 6
Had quite a quiet night. First notable action was to concede a breakdown penalty against Tavatavanawai midway through the second half. Cruised in for an easy five-pointer right at the death.
15. Zarn Sullivan – 6
Early yips under the high ball, coughing up the pill at the first time of asking. Was then penalised for not releasing the ball at the breakdown. Kicked well through his trusty left boot all match long.
Reserves
16. Soane Vikena – N/A
On in the 67th minute.
17. Karl Tu’inukuafe – 6
On in the 52nd minute. Won his side a scrum penalty by physically dominating his opposite in the final 10 minutes.
18. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 8
On in the 52nd minute. Combined well with Tanielu Tele’a to stop a threatening Moana Pasifika attack midway through the first half. Then popped up to create a dangerous attack of his own down the other end of the field, before producing a try-saving tackle to prevent Tavatavanawai from scoring. Certainly worth of a start next week.
19. Luke Romano – 6
On in the 51st minute. Some sloppy lineout work deep in his own territory put some unnecessary pressure on his side.
20. Adrian Choat – N/A
On in the 62nd minute.
21. Sam Nock – 6
On in the 54th minute. Continued to bring the zip that Christie offered all throughout the match.
22. Tanielu Tele’a – 6
On in the 54th minute. Worked well in tandem with Tu’ungafasi to halt Moana Pasifika’s attack.
Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
8 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake 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
22 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.
8 Go to comments