Hurricanes 17
It's always a mystery which Blues side will show up and it seems that this year, appearances of the proper one will be restricted to Eden Park.
Just as they were against the Crusaders on the opening night, the Blues were committed, determined and mentally tough in defeating the Hurricanes. By the final 10 minutes they were running riot, having psychologically destroyed the Canes. It was patient stuff from a side not renowned for taking their time to dissect an opponent piece by piece.
The erratic work of Perth was rarely seen with the game played at a cracking tempo with a big wince factor when it came to the crunchy bits.
Where the Blues had it over the Hurricanes was in their ability to finish what they started. Their numbers were better at the tackled ball; their support was on both shoulders after line-breaks; and these small victories did their bit in grinding the Hurricanes into mistakes.
The biggest of which was committed captain Andrew Hore who was sent to the sin-bin on 65 minutes for killing a promising Blues attack. His departure was a momentum-shifter - the Blues finally waking up to take a more direct approach and play their rugby in the Hurricanes half.
They also benefited from a brave decision by captain Keven Mealamu who turned down the easy three points for Hore's indiscretion and instead pack down for the scrum. Only two minutes later, Lachie Munro took a cut pass from Stephen Brett and the game was in the bag.
The period after that was only about seeing how far they could plunge the knife; how much pain they could inflict on a side that knew it was beaten.
The answer to that was plenty. Jarred Payne crossed just before the buzzer to turn things into an embarrassment for the Hurricanes. It was kind of fitting that Payne should have the last word - his contribution was significant.
The notion of fielding two playmakers at 10 and 12 died a quiet death last year with most teams preferring to go back to a 'bullet man' at second receiver. It was all about going forward; getting across the gain-line; having a direct presence.
That's still the prevailing mindset but the Blues made their Brett-Luke McAlister axis work for them. The latter has a booming right boot and nudged the ball into the right places while the former used skip passes to Payne at centre who expertly brought Isaia Toeava and Rene Ranger into the game.
That put the Blues in direct contrast with the Hurricanes who have never been daft enough to look the Ma'a Nonu gift horse in the mouth.
No one knows how to go up the guts quite like Nonu. It took him 35 minutes to settle but he slowly became more influential and direct, battering his way through stiff Blues' resistance to create space and opportunity further out. He had to get into the game and make a positive contribution - as it was his mistake that gifted the Blues their second try.
Having crabbed cross-field to no great effect, Nonu spilled in contact. The ball popped neatly into Payne's breadbasket and he fed Ranger who, to no one's great surprise, managed to out-run Neemia Tialata before feeding to Brett who skipped under the posts.
It may have looked a simple enough decision for Payne to immediately feed Ranger but the Northland captain is one of those players who stays a step ahead and is shaping as one of the best selections the Blues have made in years.
Up against the All Black incumbent in Conrad Smith, Payne was never intimidated or outclassed. He flew past Smith midway through the first half and, critically for the Blues, Payne didn't overplay his hand.
His value was in the way he made the most of line-breaks and half chances; he's measured, accurate and composed - qualities not all of his team-mates share.
Someone in the back division had to be switched on to the possibility of kicking the ball long and deep out of their own 22 at times. There were periods where the Blues tried to run from deep every chance they had.
It made life easy for the Hurricanes, who could generate line speed knowing with some certainty where the ball was going. The wide-wide game only works if it is executed at deadly speed and accuracy.
Blues 41 (R. Ranger, S. Brett, L. Munro, A. Mathewson, J. Payne tries; L. McAlister 2 pens, 2 cons; L. Munro 3 cons), Hurricanes 17 (N. Tialata tries; D. Kirkpatrick 4 pens).
