'Defence wins championships': Blues on the brink of historic feat

The Blues have risen to the top of the Super Rugby Pacific pecking order with their streak of wins since round three’s loss to the Hurricanes.

With just the one loss to their name in 2024, the Aucklanders have not just proved their attacking flair can score with the best of the rest, but their defence is on track to be the second most suffocating in Super Rugby history – among eventual champions.

The 2008 Crusaders hold the top spot on that list, having allowed just 14 points per game during their season.

The 2024 Blues have an average of 15.5 points conceded throughout the 13 rounds of action so far. The team travel to Christchurch to play the Crusaders and host the Chiefs at Eden Park to round out the regular season.

“I just think they’re working incredibly well together as a unit,” Sir John Kirwin said on The Breakdown when reacting to the statistic.

“If you look at Akira Ioane’s form, he is really going well on defence. Normally, we’d see him running out wider and being a bit free, but this season he’s been defending really well, and made some big hits (against the Highlanders), so there’s no one resting in that defensive line.

“And we all know that defence wins championships. It’s just fact.”

The team’s experience and chemistry have grown a lot as they have enjoyed consistency of selection over a number of seasons, no doubt influencing their defensive cohesion.

“They’ve got 10 or so players over 50 caps now, guys like Dalton (Papali’i) have matured, he’s been a leader. Patrick (Tuipulotu) has come back in and he’s led.

“I think they’ve just realised that they’ve got to work really hard together and they’re nailing the scrum. When you start to get some cracks, you actually start worrying about going to the next lineout and not the defensive line. But, they’re doing all those other little things well which means you can concentrate on doing your job.”

Kirwin added a big lesson from the competition’s perennial champions, the Crusaders, would have to stick with the Blues if they are to go on to claim the title.

“The Crusaders knew how to win even when they weren’t necessarily the best in the 80 minutes. The Blues also need to take that calmness around defence into the final.”

That point about the Crusaders’ success was echoed by Kirwin’s co-host and fellow All Blacks great Jeff Wilson.

“When I think defence, I think one, two, three, four and five,” he said. “Their front row and locks have gone about their work on the inside channel, and they just don’t concede.

“Yes, I know Dalton Papali’i is world-class, Hoskins Sotutu has done in Super Rugby what he’s done for a few years, he’s dominated this level and we’ve seen some great work, some better work from Akira Ioane.

“Adrian Choat comes off the bench but (Laghlan) McWhannell, (Sam) Darry, (Patrick) Tuipulotu, (Ofa) Tu’ungafasi, (Angus)Ta’avao, (Ricky) Riccitelli, (Soane) Vikena; all of a sudden that tight five is operating at a level. The scrum has been really good, lineout drive defence has been great.

“The Highlanders felt it, they got to the 50th-minute mark and they just couldn’t hang on, they couldn’t stay with them. And that wasn’t even the top Blues side.

“This is an impressive defensive stanza, how many titles have the Crusaders got? This is what they won their titles on.”