Super Rugby Aotearoa - Blues player ratings vs Hurricanes
The Blues came to Sky Stadium knowing a win over the Hurricanes would keep their hopes of winning Super Rugby Aotearoa alive. The Hurricanes were hoping that it would be third time lucky this year, losing the previous two clashes against the Aucklanders in 2020.
The Blues incredibly managed to stay in contention with only 35% of the possession but Jordie Barrett broke the stalemate with a sideline conversion to get the Hurricanes home 29-27.
Here’re the Blues player ratings.
1 Alex Hodgman 5.5
Not the stellar performance he stamped out last week. Lost the scrum battle with Lomax and just before halftime a turnover mistake that got the home team back on level terms. Off at 49.
2 Kurt Eklund 7
Biggest Scandinavian hit since ABBA. Started on the Money Money Money with a turnover on Laumape in the 1st min. Was a Super Trouper with the line out purring and said Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! at the lineout maul and crashed over for a well deserved try. Hasta Mañana at 63 minutes.
3 Ofa Tuungafasi 6
Scrum was the root of the Blues problem in the first half with no go forward. Still powerful in contact. Off at 67.
4 Patrick Tuipulotu 6
Has gone off the boil in open play with a subdued outing for the second week in a row. Still a force in defence and in the trenches.
5 Josh Goodhue 6.5
Underrated player and one of the keys to the Blues improvement this season. Top line out takes and 13 tackles. Slight error to compete at the defensive line out that led to Princep try. Off at 49.
6 Aaron Carroll 6
Good tight/loose display in the drizzle. Off at 45
7 Dalton Papalii 7.5
Blues best player for second week in a row. Top tackler in match with 18, most of them dominant. Great lineout maul try, his 4th this year. Moved to blindside early in 2nd half and soared high in lineout. Only error was the miss on Laumape in the lead up to Coles try. With his versatility he could be a great bench option for the All Blacks this year.
8 Akira Ioane 6
Tough day at the office for his return at number 8. Lack of control at the back of the back peddling scrum. Showed his power as he gouged himself over for a try at 57 minutes.
9 Finlay Christie 5.5
Like Hodgman he couldn’t back up with the same standard as last week. Molested by Perenara at scrum time, got caught by the second shove a few times as well when a quick clearance was required. A frazzled pass into Carroll’s head showed he was off kilter. Improved in the second half and off at 59.
10 Otere Black 5.5
Black’s game playing flat at the line works better with some go forward so he was neutralised. A clatter into Lam’s legs after a brave claim on the ground ended his night at 43 minutes.
11 Mark Telea 6
Works well off the ball but couldn’t get space. Good turnover off Garden Bachop in 54th minute.
PLAYER RATINGS:
There's a 9 in there.
Finn Morton rates the Canes ???https://t.co/4dCJo5Aq67
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 18, 2020
12 Harry Plummer 5
Wasn’t his night. Came out of the line to gift Kirifi the break that led to Narawa yellow card, got himself caught for obstruction in the 21st minute in front of Akira Ioane. Off at 45.
13 Rieko Ioane 6.5
Big miss on Umaga-Jenson in the lead up to Coles try but other than that 17 quality tackles. Limited chances on attack but a couple of loose pops for glory early went astray. Later in the game he held on more and went to ground and that worked better.
14 Emoni Narawa 6
Yellow carded but saved the day when Laumape looked like he would get his 2nd try. Some strong tackles but no real chances with the ball.
The Hurricanes win a thriller. #SuperRugbyAotearoa pic.twitter.com/VmN653ObQM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 18, 2020
15 Beauden Barrett 6.5
It was an up and down day for the star. Skinned by Laumape in the 4th and 12th minutes, jeered by the Hurricanes crowd he shut them up for a while in the 9th minute with an awesome individual try. Looked really good when he stepped into first receiver and perhaps we’ll see more of that for the rest of the season.
REPLACEMENTS
16 Luteru Tolai 5.5
On at 63 and is owed a refreshment by the person who delivered his name round the wrong way in the programme.
17 Marcel Renata 6
On at 49. Steadied the scrum well. Lost a crucial ball at 70 minutes when the Blues were on a roll.
18 Sione Mafileo N/A
On at 67
19 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti 6
On at 49 for his 50th Blues game. Snappy lineout steal at 59 minutes.
20 Tony Lamborn 5
On at 45. A couple of knock-ons spoiling an industrious performance.
21 Jonathan Ruru 5.5
On at 59, looked active but got caught not rolling away in 75th minute that led to the Hurricane’s last try.
22 TJ Faiane 6.5
On at 45. Left wondering what would have been if he’d been there to chop Laumape down earlier.
23 Matt Duffie 5.5
On at 43 but quiet.
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to comments