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Papalii and Sotutu reclaim starting spots as the Blues look to continue form against the Brumbies
The Blues are under no illusions about the challenge facing them as they prepare to welcome the Brumbies to Eden Park on Saturday night for their round three clash in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.
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With the top two teams from the competition to qualify for the final, the Blues will be chasing victory to remain in the title hunt, with the side focused on an improved performance against a powerful Brumbies line-up.
“We know what is at stake here. We have three tough games to finish this competition – and our focus is firmly on Saturday night,” said coach Leon MacDonald. “We may have got five points last weekend and did a lot of things well but we were not satisfied with aspects of our performance.
“We know we must improve and keep improving if we want to fulfil our goals.”
Coach MacDonald said he is looking for significant improvement in set-piece, defence and discipline against this year’s Super Rugby AU runners-up.
The back line is unchanged from last week, with the players developing good combinations on the back of front-foot ball.
All Black loose forwards Hoskins Sotutu and Dalton Papalii return to the starting line-up to form a potent back row with in-form Tom Robinson, who retains the captaincy.
Continued excellent form from Gerard Cowley-Tuioti sees him retain his place at lock in the starting line-up, having played in every game this season. This means team captain Patrick Tuipulotu will come off the bench after returning from injury last week.
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The coaching staff are looking for a decisive impact from their bench, which will boast four All Blacks in Tuipulotu, Akira Ioane, Nepo Laulala and Alex Hodgman.
The only injury loss is to All Black Ofa Tuungafasi who has been given his first game off this season to nurse continued knee and hand injuries.
There are five up-and-coming New Zealand stars who have featured regularly in the No 8 jersey throughout the past two seasons of Super Rugby – and they're all vying for the opportunity to pack down at the back of the #AllBlacks scrum.
?? @TheChaseRugbyhttps://t.co/yXGkIY6IGk
— RugbyPass+ (@RugbyPassPlus) May 26, 2021
The two sides were due to clash in March last year, part of an historic cross-code event with the Warriors-Raiders match but were prevented from doing so as borders closed that week due to COVID-19.
The Brumbies have won six of the last 10 encounters between the two sides dating back to 2008, including twice in Auckland, and it has been four years since the Blues last defeated the Canberra-based franchise. In fact, the competition between the two sides is such that they have each scored exactly 214 points in their last 10 clashes.
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The Blues team:
15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 TJ Faiane, 11 AJ Lam, 10 Otere Black, 9 Finlay Christie; 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Dalton Papalii, 6 Tom Robinson (C), 5 Josh Goodhue, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Kurt Eklund, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe.
Reserves: 16 Soane Vikena, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Akira Ioane, 21 Jonathan Ruru, 22 Harry Plummer, 23 Mark Telea.
– Blues Rugby
Comments on RugbyPass
What a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
103 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
1 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
2 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
2 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
103 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
3 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
3 Go to commentsWell one thing about World Cup knock out rounds and Ireland is very clear: they won’t be getting ahead of themselves in ‘27! Because making it beyond the QF is well and truly ‘IN THEIR HEADS’ now…😉
103 Go to commentsHas this guy been dope tested? Sounds like a case of “roid rage”.
1 Go to commentsI would like to see him say that to Eben face to face in a dark alley.
103 Go to comments