Hoskins Sotutu's take on the Blues' streak-ending season: 'We've been working really hard to try and get Auckland back supporting us'
Already, 2020 is shaping up as a record-breaking year for the Blues.
Sunday night’s win over the Hurricanes marked the first time that the Auckland-based side have won back-to-back matches against the men from the capital since 2013 – which was also the most-recent season that the Blues had recorded a win in Wellington until earlier this year.
They’re now sitting on a five-match winning streak – a feat they’ve not achieved since 2011.
Curiously enough, 2011 was also the last time that the Blues managed a win in Hamilton – although that could all change when the neighbouring franchises face off this coming weekend.
On that fateful night nine year ago, Jared Payne was the sole try-scorer for the visitors while Luke McAlister added 11 points from the boot. The Chiefs scored two tries of their own, through Liam Messam and Sona Taumalolo, but still fell short, 13-16.
None of the players that took the field on that soggy Hamilton evening are still playing professional football in New Zealand but Tana Umaga, who started the game in the Chiefs midfield, is now an assistant coach with the Blues.
That means that none of the current crop of Blues talent have ever tasted victory against the Chiefs in Hamilton. Beauden Barrett, of course, only just joined the Blues this season – but as the Hurricanes also hadn’t scored a win in Hamilton for over a decade until earlier this year, Barrett’s similarly never won a Super Rugby match in the Waikato region.
That’s unlikely to faze anyone in the Blues set-up, however – least of all, breakout star Hoskins Sotutu.
“Is that so? I didn’t even know that,” Sotutu said when asked about the Blues’ less than impressive record in Hamilton.
“We just try not to think about the past too much – we just focus on the game at hand. We’re a new team at the moment, trying to turn things around.”
Sotutu was just one part of an impressive loose forward combo that outgunned their Hurricanes counterparts over the weekend.
While Northland’s Tom Robinson was expertly employed in the lineouts and replacement openside Dalton Papalii hit the most breakdowns of any Blues forward, Sotutu was a menace across the park – eating metres, pilfering lineout ball and earning breakdown turnovers.
The breakdown, in particular, is one area where Sotutu is focussing on improving his performance.
From the confines of isolation, Hoskins Sotutu and I spoke about his impressive season with the @BluesRugbyTeam. #SuperRugbyhttps://t.co/pWOhi1kKJm
— Tom Vinicombe (@TomVinicombe) March 26, 2020
“I’ve been working on my jackle and stuff around the breakdown a lot,” he said. “The coaches have tried to help me out a lot around that. That’s sort of the area that I need to work on the most.
“Also, I’m working on trying to turn my defence into a bit of a turning point as well. Trying to be that enforcer dude as well – at both ends of the ball.”
Sotutu was just one piece of a Blues lineout that caused massive problems for the Hurricanes, with the Aucklanders picking off five of their opposition’s throws – and they’ll be trying to cause as much disruption when they come up against the Chiefs on Saturday.
The Chiefs had plenty of their own issues over the weekend, with precious lineout ball regularly spilled or overthrown, and the tall timber in the Blues pack will be hoping to feed of those sorts of mistakes – though they may have to do it without Robinson, who sustained a knee injury in the win over the Hurricanes.
Blake Gibson, who started in the 7 jersey, took a blow to the head and exited Sunday’s game after 30 minutes, which could also force changes for the Blues.
Injuries are hardly a surprise – players, coaches and pundits alike all predicted that there would be plenty of casualties throughout the season due to the intensely physical nature of the NZ derbies. While Sotutu is fit and ready to go for the weekend at this stage, he felt the impact of his first competitive game of rugby since the lockdown back in March.
“The body was a bit sore but it was the first game back so that was expected,” he said.
“You can’t really train for an intense game like that, especially against the Canes, it’s always real fast and also real physical as well. You feel pretty tired in the first half and then it carries on all the way through until the end of the game.”
The Blues aren’t expecting a rousing welcome from the Chiefs or the Hamilton crowd but Sotutu is hopeful that fans do continue to flock to stadiums for the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition.
“There’s a bit of a rivalry, always, against the Chiefs,” Sotutu admitted. “I guess they don’t like us and we don’t like them either.”
“It’s always good to have heaps of fans at the games. It just helps with the atmosphere. It pumps up both team – it helps when you’re the home team but when you’re visiting, it gets the boys up as well.”
Over 43,000 fans turned out at Eden Park to witness the Blues’ win over the Hurricanes while, by Tuesday evening, 16,000 tickets had been sold for this weekend’s grudge match with the Chiefs at Waikato Stadium, which can seat around 25,000 spectators.
Sotutua admitted that running out for the first game of rugby in over three months was a little bit nerve-wracking – but hoped that the masses of fans that turned out for the match will be a sign of things to come.
“It was definitely the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of,” Sotutu said of Sunday’s game.
“There’s always a bit of nerves but, for the most part, I was pretty excited to get out and play in front of so many Blues supporters. We’ve been working really hard to try and get Auckland back supporting us and having some more faith in us. I think we’re heading in the right direction.
“I just hope that they keep coming out and we keep making them happy.”
Comments on RugbyPass
You probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
12 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)
1 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?
1 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.
4 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.
16 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
16 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.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
16 Go to comments