Liam Napier: It’s impossible to shake nagging doubts about Blues

Mark Telea celebrates one of his four tries against the Hurricanes at Eden Park last night. Photo / Photosport

OPINION:

Mark Telea’s majestic performance aside, the Blues know their patchy victory over the Hurricanes won’t be good enough to survive the looming playoffs.

With one home match against the Highlanders to navigate before entering the Super Rugby Pacific finals, there’s a sense the Blues are trending towards peaking when it matters most.

Beauden Barrett appears on track to return from stitches in his ankle this week. Inspirational captain Dalton Papali’i will be back the following week from his three-match suspension for the likely home quarter-final. Telea has claimed the mantle as the competition’s form wing; Bryce Heem continues to prove the late-blooming midfield glue and the powerful Blues pack can mix it with anyone.

Yet for all those compelling threats, it’s impossible to shake nagging doubts about the Blues. That’s because they’re yet to convince this season.

Saturday night’s wildly fluctuating win is merely the latest example. Good one minute, frustrating the next is the theme of their campaign.

Had it not been for Telea’s brilliance in scoring four tries, the Blues could well be contemplating a different result after the Hurricanes missed 12 kickable points.

“He’s on fire. He was the difference, really,” Blues coach Leon MacDonald said of the All Blacks right wing after the 36-25 win lifted the Blues to third.

“Close to the line, in the middle of the field, or wherever he decides to pop up, that’s probably his point of difference. He’s all over the place. You can’t get away from him and he’s always looking for opportunities. Whether he’s off the back of a ruck or inside, outside 10 or on the edge, he’s hungry to get his hands on the ball and dangerous. He was fantastic.

“There were periods of play we won’t look back at fondly. Unforced errors and some of our decision-making need a bit of tidying up, it’s fair to say.

“To beat a Hurricanes side when it’s all up for grabs is a good sign for us. We’re probably going to meet them again – and the Crusaders, Brumbies and Chiefs. We know the performance probably wasn’t good enough but we know we’re not far away.”

Rieko Ioane has found the ideal foil in Bryce Heem. Photo / Photosport

When they are on, the Blues can hurt the opposition in a multitude of ways. They possess the ability to grind through their maul and pick and drive, particularly close to the line.

Hoskins Sotutu will be spelled against the Highlanders for his second All Blacks rest week but his form epitomises the Blues’ punchy ball carriers. Nepo Laulala’s starting return against the Hurricanes underlined the scrummaging prowess, too. Zarn Sullivan’s left boot is increasingly influential as his confidence returns from the back. And wider out, Caleb Clarke’s aerial skill to gather restarts is an underrated weapon.

Too often, though, that platform is undone by mental lapses. Defensively, the Blues were broken up the middle and, when passes didn’t stick in the wet, the Hurricanes feasted on those mistakes. The Blues led 19-3 in the first half and 24-15 in the second – yet their lack of accuracy and ruthlessness allowed the Hurricanes to remain in the contest throughout.

Better teams have punished those flaws this season. That the Blues’ four losses have come against the Crusaders, Chiefs and Brumbies – the three other leading contenders – only fuels reluctance to believe they are the real deal. While they have improved since those setbacks, memories of their tryless effort in the defeat to the Crusaders in Christchurch three weeks ago linger.

Stand-in skipper Patrick Tuipulotu remains confident the Blues will find another gear, though.

“There’s elements of leadership where we have to stick in and grind hard and others where we probably lacked some decision-making. It wasn’t the tidiest game. We shouldn’t have to rely on our wingers to pull us out.

“You get the feeling there’s another level to go. We’ll get through next week diligently then look forward to the quarter-finals.”

Heem continues to prove an unlikely hero and the ideal foil to Rieko Ioane. The 34-year-old is keeping Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in the stands with a simple blend of low-error, direct carrying and smart decisions that included two try assists against the Hurricanes.

“He’s on top of his game, reaching his peak,” MacDonald chuckled of the evergreen veteran. “You can’t not pick him at the moment and that’s what you want from your players. The guys he has leapfrogged are playing good rugby so it’s hard to have those conversations when they’re not doing a lot wrong. He was massive.

“The conditions probably suited him. He was able to give us gain line when we needed it and make those plays like that little grubber through. He’s more than a heavy ball carrier; he’s a smarter footballer. Since he’s been with us he’s never had a bad game.”

As for the Hurricanes, they need to halt the Crusaders’ four-match unbeaten run in Wellington next week to avoid three straight losses leading into the playoffs. Losing wingers Julian Savea and Salesi Rayasi to injuries won’t help that cause.

“We’ve had a mindset that these three derbies and the finals are an awesome opportunity for us,” Hurricanes coach Jason Holland said. “You can’t just turn it on in a quarter-final, so we need to be building towards performance and pressure and making sure we’re winning games.”