1
Courage, discipline and farewells: Tuipulotu sums up Blues’ playoff exit
By Finn Morton
Captain Patrick Tuipulotu praised the Blues for the “courage” they showed late in Friday’s semi-final defeat in Christchurch, but acknowledged the team’s poor discipline was a key factor as the Crusaders punched their ticket to the big dance with a 21-14 triumph.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Blues conceded 16 penalties throughout the match, as the Crusaders clawed their way into the contest following a slow start. All Blacks Mark Tele’a and Rieko Ioane crossed for first-half tries, and a yellow card against Braydon Ennor swung the match in the Blues’ favour.
With a 14-nil lead after 20 minutes, the Blues had put themselves in a strong position at Apollo Projects Stadium, but the Crusaders responded almost immediately as Tom Christie scored only three minutes after Ioane.
Will Jordan scored just before the break, and the fullback completed a double with about 10 minutes left in the contest. As for the Blues, their ill discipline saw them go down to 14-men twice, with Josh Fusitu’a and Hoskins Sotutu shown yellow cards.
“Yeah, very tough. We started very well, we were able to play our game and [we] sort of let them back in,” Tuipulotu said post-game on Sky Sport.
“I think they were good at what they pride themselves on around their set-piece. [We] let them back in the game and they were able to capitalise.
“On top of that, we were pretty ill disciplined, and then again, they were able to get on top of us in that way.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I think we showed a lot of courage in that last five, eight minutes, but it just wasn’t enough today. Congratulations to David [Havili] and the Crusaders.”
Beauden Barrett and the Blues kicked more than the Crusaders, but the home side made their way into the opposing 22 more than their rivals. Will Jordan and Chay Fihaki were especially lethal, offering dangerous running and kick games when returning the ball.
Both possession and territory were practically even, but there was a noticeable shift early in the second half where the Blues struggled to get out of their own half. As All Blacks centurion Mils Muliaina pointed out, that allowed the Crusaders to play with momentum.
“Definitely felt a lot of the pressure trying to exit well,” Tuipulotu reflected.
“They’ve got guys like Will Jordan in the back there, pulling strings out the back and just able to get up in the air and challenge and win that messy ball.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We didn’t really get the bounce of the ball in that sense but again, that’s just how the games goes.”
For the Blues, their title defence is over. After a rollercoaster season, the Blues’ campaign has come to an end, and with that result, so too the Blues careers of some club stalwarts – Mark Tele’a, Harry Plummer, Ricky Riccitelli and Adrian Choat all moving on.
All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane also won’t be playing for the Blues next season, having signed a sabbatical deal with European juggernauts Leinster.
“We’ve had obviously had some really key guys part of our team for a while now are leaving and they’ve provided a lot of service, great service to the Blues jersey,” he added.
“We just want to wish them all the best as they endeavour on their new journey. We know they’ll still represent the Blues very proudly.
“Gutted that we couldn’t do the job and get another week but as I said before, that’s rugby.”
News, stats, videos and more! Download the new RugbyPass app, in collaboration with the British and Irish Lions, on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) now!
