Blues' impressive defence cuts it with coach

Ask coach Peter Sloane and he nominates the Blues defence as the most impressive factor in their opening Super 12 victory against the Highlanders.

Add on set-piece solidity, kick restart prowess and some better consistency and the Blues coaching staff had a contented look after the 30-14 victory at Carisbrook.

"People know all about our attack but we have got a few things going for us defensively," Sloane said.

"We missed 17 tackles and that left us with a success rate of just over 90 per cent," Sloane added, "and for the start of the competition that is very good. In the last two weeks we have not been near that figure."

The Blues had a mild buildup in their two pre-season trial matches after the late return of their All Blacks. But they clicked on Friday when the final year of the series started.

"They showed they are maturing, they showed they can respond to what we have been doing and what's even better we did not suffer any injuries," Sloane added.

"At times we pressured ourselves but we also showed ourselves that our systems will work if we stay in them. The basics were good, it was only step one but it was much nicer to start this way."

The coach's defensive raps were plaudits for coaching import David Nucifora who heads up that area of the franchise and has been drilling the squad strongly this season.

If there was some concern for the Blues it was the number of penalties they conceded, including a number which had the players and staff bluffed.

"There is usually some variation for the first few weeks but we all get a chance to have our say and it must be said teams all appear to be playing harder for the ball on the ground," Sloane said.

Injured All Blacks Doug Howlett, Tony Woodcock and Jerome Kaino are unlikely to be available for the Blues' next game on Friday at Eden Park against the Reds. However, utility Ben Atiga might be part of the mix after his hamstring strain.

The Reds were unseated at Ballymore by a rugged Hurricanes pack, in a match which was not decided until the last few minutes.