Finding solace in defeat has never been so easy for the Blues. They lost in Brisbane last night, yet, strangely, did more than enough to establish themselves as a genuine title contender.
That's because they did everything but win. Tactically, they were light years ahead of where they were the last time they played the Reds at Suncorp. Coach John Kirwan got it right - his plan was to run the Reds, coming off a brutal encounter with the Brumbies on only six days rest - the Blues racked up the phases. The possession stakes were frighteningly in their favour - their ball retention through as many as 20 phases was quite phenomenal.
They didn't always go as far forward as they wanted but through phases after phases of recycling, they achieved their goal of forcing the Reds into making an inordinate number of tackles.
Their performance at the breakdown was probably the best by any team in the competition so far. There was a 20-minute period in the second half where the Blues pulled off eight consecutive turnovers on Reds' possession. The whole side was at it - Rene Ranger, Piri Weepu, Luke Braid, Steven Luatua and Peter Saili. A wobbly scrum was shored up to be effective and the Blues were in control of the game pretty much for 80 minutes.
But they didn't win. For all their possession, territory and dominance across the field - they made mistakes at critical times and handed Quade Cooper four penalty shots. They also couldn't convert all their pressure into points - a tribute to the defensive effort of the Reds but also more evidence that they made, at critical times, a few errors in execution and decision-making that derailed their momentum.
