Caleb Clarke of the Blues celebrates one of his three tries with Rieko Ioane and Mark Telea in the Super Rugby Pacific Final at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport
Caleb Clarke of the Blues celebrates one of his three tries with Rieko Ioane and Mark Telea in the Super Rugby Pacific Final at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport
From the Harbour Bridge to the Sky Tower, paint the city blue. After 21 years of craving an elusive championship, Auckland is again a title town.
The Blues are Super Rugby champions for the first time since 2003 after routing the Chiefs 41-10. Their fourth title, following those in 1996, 1997 and ‘03, will be treasured by all those connected to the team and a region that has endured such prolonged heartache.
Perennial underachievers no more. The Blues have, finally, conquered a peak so many of their predecessors could not.
Vern Cotter’s arrival, to deliver the Blues a crown in his first season at the helm, anoints the vastly experienced mentor messiah status. In Devonport or Māngere, Cotter will never have to buy a beer in Auckland again.
For many of this Blues squad, those who lived the painful experiences of coaching changes and dark days through to the rebuild, losing the final at home to the Crusaders two years ago, and their semifinal loss in Christchurch last year, this success will heal those wounds and, perhaps, usher in a new dawn.
For the first time in eight years, Super Rugby has a new champion. The Crusaders are out, and the Blues, with their unapologetically methodical brutal brand of up-the-guts power, are in.
Blues brothers Akira Ioane and Rieko Ioane celebrate winning the Super Rugby title. Photo / Photosport
No one expected this final to be such a one-sided shutout. Certainly not the hearty contingent of Chiefs fans who swarmed a supporter’s bar in Kingsland prematch and made their presence felt at a sold-out Eden Park, only to depart home decidedly deflated.
Leading 20-3 at half time and 34-3 in the second half, the level of dominance and comfort the Blues savoured on such a stage was rarefied air indeed.
No amount of rain could dampen spirits or the imminent celebrations as the Blues rushed the field at full time. Ecstasy and relief were palpable.
Patrick Tuipulotu’s miraculous healing powers were there for all to witness as he led from the front with a series of powerful carries in a scarcely believable comeback from a knee injury that was supposed to sideline him for another five weeks.
At the heart of their set piece, maul and general control, Tuipulotu has been the Blues inspirational spiritual leader this season. Early in the second half, he needed strapping on his knee but with the title within reach he refused to leave the field.
When he eventually departed, with the result sealed and 23 minutes remaining, Tuipulotu received a standing ovation from the south stand faithful.
It’s only fitting Tuipulotu joins Zinzan Brooke and Xavier Rush as previous Blues captains to lift the trophy.
With a hat-trick in another highly involved performance, Caleb Clarke further pushed his case to All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, too.
Homegrown playmaker Harry Plummer, with another composed kicking a decision-making display, shelved years of the Blues crying out for a controlling first five-eighth.
On the big stage, in enemy territory, the Chiefs were hesitant and inaccurate from the outset. They barely fired a shot. Loose forwards Luke Jacobson and Wallace Sititi competed admirably but frustrations compounded mistakes.
The Chiefs fell behind early and never recovered. Damian McKenzie’s lone three points prior to Simon Parker’s 65th-minute try underline their struggles to mount any form of scoreboard pressure.
Forced to survive on defence, making over 150 more tackles than the Blues, the Chiefs consistently drew the ire of Australia referee Nic Berry to find themselves on the wrong side of a 12-5 penalty count that culminated in George Dyer’s second-half yellow card.
By that point, the Chiefs were on the rack. When Clarke crashed over for his second try any hopes the Chiefs had of mounting a genuine comeback were dashed.
All night the Blues feasted off the Chiefs’ mistakes.
Chiefs hooker Tyrone Thompson, thrust into the starting role after injuries to Samisoni Taukei’aho and Bradley Slater, struggled to nail his core duties which proved costly with the Blues scoring following one not straight throw.
The Chiefs back three all made unforced errors, too. Shaun Stevenson threw one pass out on the full and dropped a Finlay Christie bomb. Etene Nanai-Seturo hoofed the ball out on the full, and Emoni Narawa let the kickoff bounce to leave his side pinned in the danger zone.
The Blues were clinical and composed by comparison. As has been their brutal blueprint all season they laid the platform through their dominant, direct forward pack. Despite the challenging conditions, with persistent rain prevalent, the Blues weren’t afraid to give the ball air, chase space on the edges and launch set moves.
In a fitting farewell, loyal servant Akira Ioane claimed the opening try from close range in his final game for the Blues before departing to Japan. The Ioane brothers, Rieko and Akira, then combined in the corner with brilliant offloading in minimal space to send Clarke over.
By halftime, the mountain was too much for the Chiefs to climb.
A second successive loss in the final, after falling short against the Crusaders in Hamilton last year, will sting.
An erratic regular season that featured five losses forced the Chiefs to reach this juncture the hard way. In the end, two knockout matches away from home, and a rampant Blues team, proved far too much to overcome.
When the time comes to reflect Clayton McMillan’s men will absorb lessons.
