First Take: Bulls no match for ferocious strength of Moala

George Moala of the Blues. Photo / Getty Images.

Blues 23 Bulls 18

They do things differently at the Blues. They've beaten themselves up off the track this week and when they stepped into the workplace where they have been troubled all season, they triumphed.

They dealt to the Bulls who look a massive crew in their alternate strip but play without any relentless sting. They roll their sleeves up when they sense a rolling maul or a series of ram raids then fall into more mechanical moments around the rest of their play.

Macho is part of their credo however they had no one to match the ferocious strength of George Moala, someone who has carried other unwanted headlines this season but stood out for rugby matters tonight at Eden Park.

Originally used as an outside back, his shift into midfield has been one of the brighter points in a troubled season.

Moala has never been noted for his subtle skills and distribution, his preference is for confrontation and attack. Dealing with traffic down route one is just fine for him.

His move into second five eighths looks a handy solution where his power can get the Blues over the advantage line most times he carries. Wet conditions allow Moala to bend the line and bring his teammates into play.

He is also very adept at holding up rivals who are negligent about their body position when they carry into contact. Moala was centre-Astage in all of that tonight---- enough to position the Blues to find a rare victory.