Blues v Reds takes: Beauden Barrett follows suit, Blues' underrated weapon

The Blues have secured an important Super Point, 36-33, victory over the Queensland Reds at Christchurch’s One New Zealand Stadium, claiming a 3-0 clean sweep for New Zealand sides over their Australian counterparts on Anzac weekend.

The scores were tied at half, where the Reds came back from 21-7 down to head into the sheds with a genuine foothold in the contest.

Vern Cotter’s Blues had some standout performances from their backline, including Napier-born fullback Zarn Sullivan, while Dalton Papali’i led from the front in the forward pack.

Filipo Daugunu impressed in his 60-minute shift, before Reds youngster Treyvon Pritchard helped send the game to Super Point.

Here are some takeaways from One New Zealand Stadium.

Anton Segner tested by Wallabies back row

German-born loose-forward Anton Segner has won the Blues man-of-the-match award for three straight games before heading into a huge matchup against the Reds. The 24-year-old has been exceptional this season, physical on both sides of the ball and a reliable lineout option.

Pundits have floated the idea of Segner making a case for All Blacks selection, but Saturday night’s battle against Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, and Joe Brial was a test of where he’s really at.

The Blues’ loose-forward’s first part to play was a leap to claim a high-ball, done perfectly, before giving away a penalty in the build-up to the Reds’ first try minutes later. He was busy for the rest of the first half, but Wilson’s skill set and power, and McReight’s ability on both sides of the ball, overshadowed Segner’s busyness.

Two missed tackles in the first ten minutes of the second half went unpunished by the Reds, but the No.6 bounced back with a crucial turnover for his side over the ball inside their 22. McReight continued to make stops defensively, while the Wallabies captain got his hands dirty in the second half.

Overall, it was a valiant effort by Segner and the rest of his Blues loose-forward trio, but it’s safe to say the Reds’ back row won the battle, but lost the war.

Player Carries

1

Hunter Paisami

16

2

Harry Wilson

16

3

Cole Forbes

11

First-fives doing Dave Rennie no favours

Beauden Barrett’s played 145 Test matches for the All Blacks compared to Ruben Love’s five, but there were close comparisons in terms of performance on Saturday night in Christchurch.

Love had his moments against the Brumbies, where his electrifying pace put doubt in the defence’s minds on multiple occasions, while Barrett’s classy playmaking set up two tries in the first half.

But the Hurricanes’ playmaker opted for some interesting decisions when the game was all but over, throwing some unnecessary offloads to ground.

Barrett then showed inaccuracy with some simple ball handling in the second half of the second game on Saturday, which wasn’t up to his game management standards.

Surprisingly, the experienced All Black opted to kick the ball out of play with 90 seconds remaining, gifting the Reds an opportunity to tie the game in the dying stages. That they did, sending the match to Super Point.

Super Point lasted all of five minutes before McReight’s infringement allowed Barrett to ice the game at Te Kaha, but there are definitely question marks around the two No.10 performances on Saturday.

Blues’ underrated weapon

Sullivan glided past defenders during both his first-half scores, often holding the ball in two hands for safety as he proved hard to stop for Reds defenders.

Vern Cotter’s double bluff

Cotter’s style is simple. One-off ball carriers up the middle, denting the defensive line with over-the-advantage-line carries. This wasn’t the case against the Reds, where their backs had the majority of the ball as they attempted to stretch the Reds’ defence.

In the second half, too, the Blues spread the ball wide as they looked to isolate the wide players for the Reds. It didn’t always work, which could be due to the limited times they’ve employed that type of game-plan this season.

The Blues benefited from some ill-discipline by the Reds in the second half, allowing Cotter’s forwards to roll up their sleeves and score points through brute strength, but the change in game plan was evident in the first 40.