Super Rugby Aotearoa: Blues player ratings vs Hurricanes
The arrival of both Beauden Barrett and Dan Carter in Auckland ensured that Blues fans entered the new season of Super Rugby Aotearoa with positive attitudes. A packed-out crowd was on hand to watch Barrett’s debut – although they’ll have to wait a few weeks for Carter to make an appearance – and they were hoping for a considerably better flowing match than the season opener between the Highlanders and the Chiefs on Saturday evening.
Fortunately, fans won’t have been disappointed with the quality of the match. Yes, there were a few more penalties than most would have hoped for – but there were also some exceptional tries. Ultimately, the Blues came out on top, winning 30-20.
Who were the Blues’ top performers in their first match of the new Super Rugby Aotearoa season?
1. Alex Hodgman – 6
Not as busy as his front row partners but did honest work. Off in 66th minute.
2. James Parsons – 6.5
Led the Blues’ defensive line. Apart from one little blip, helped the Blues lineout function very efficiently. Off in 66th minute.
3. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 7.5
Topped the Blues’ tackle charts with 13. Earned a scrum penalty in the 36th minute to put the Blues hot on attack then was done over by Tevita Mafileo in the second half. Off in 66th minute.
4. Patrick Tuipulotu – 8
Physical. Exactly what the Blues needed from their captain. Threw himself into tackles and cleaned out more than Hurricane breakdown threat. Not used too much by the Blues for their own throws into the lineout but made a nuisance of himself when the Hurricanes were feeding. Off in 71st minute.
5. Josh Goodhue – 7
The Blues’ key lineout forward and reliable on defence. More graft than glamour for the first 79 minutes then came alive, forcing a breakdown penalty then giving a nice offload to Papalii out wide.
6. Tom Robinson – 8.5
Constantly disrupted the Hurricanes’ set-piece throughout the match, managing three steals. Showed good pace to cover Vince Aso’s attacking grubber kick and prevented a sure try. Popped up everywhere.
7. Blake Gibson – 6
A couple of big tackles early on – showed more physicality than we’re traditionally seen from him. Busy on defence. Off in 30th minute.
8. Hoskins Sotutu – 7.5
Didn’t clock up as many metres on attack as we’ve become accustomed to (still the most of any Blues forward though) but showed off his wider range of skills. Surprisingly disruptive in the breakdowns, forcing a few penalties. Nice cover tackle on Ngani Laumape.
9. Sam Nock – 7.5
Maintained the pace exceptionally well – especially in the lead-up to the Blues’ second try. One of the best performances from a Blues halfback in recent years. Off in 66th minute.
10. Otere Black – 8
Didn’t see too much of his running game but kept the score ticking along with perfect goal kicking and was a calming presence in the backline. Cleverly timed passing gave Rieko Ioane the space for the Blues’ first try. Bumped by Asafo Aumua then promptly left the field. Off in 71st minute.
11. Caleb Clarke – 8.5
The Blues’ biggest metre-eater with over 100 to his name. Very dangerous and deceptively fast but perhaps a bit too greedy at times. Burst onto a Rieko Ioane ball in the 13th minute then broke two tackles to score a well-taken try. Had the opportunity to send Beauden Barrett away not much later but held on a smidge too long. Forced one ruck penalty. Off in 66th minute.
12. TJ Faiane – 6.5
Faiane is normally a quiet operator, leaving the flashy stuff to his teammates. Scored one try this afternoon and put in one expertly weighted grubber to set up Dalton Papalii’s try but probably still didn’t have quite as much an impact throughout the game as he would have liked. First man of the game to get hit for a breakdown infringement, which the Hurricanes promptly converted into points. Bowled over by Asafo Aumua.
13. Rieko Ioane – 7.5
Looked deadly, a completely different player to last year. Great cover tackle on Ben Lam in the 10th minute after the Hurricanes winger almost escaped Mark Telea’s grasp. Great burst set up Clarke’s first try of the afternoon.
14. Mark Telea 7.5
Swapped onto the right wing after making such a big impact on the left earlier in the season – it didn’t faze the 23-year-old. Created space for himself with expert sidestepping and physicality. Broke two tackles then offloaded to Faiane for the Blues’ second try. Sent Chase Tiatia to the shadow realm with a beautiful fend.
15. Beauden Barrett – 7
Lovely inside ball to create the Blues’ second try. Brilliant tactical kicking throughout the match. Rushed out to try cut down Hurricanes attack which created the overlap for Ben Lame to score. Pinged once in the breakdowns.
Reserves:
16. Kurt Eklund – N/A
On in 66th minute.
17. Ezekiel Lindenmuth – N/A
On in 66th minute.
18. Marcel Renata – N/A
On in 66th minute.
19. Gerard Cowley-Tuioti – N/A
On in 71st minute.
20. Dalton Papalii – 7.5
On in 30th minute. Almost immediately won a penalty. Maintained Gibson’s physicality in defence then showed good pace to capitalise off Faiane’s grubber.
21. Finlay Christie – N/A
On in 66th minute.
22. Harry Plummer – N/A
On in 71st minute. Slotted in at fullback, unusually.
23. Matt Duffie – N/A
On in 66th minute. One nice clearance kick.
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments