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SUPER 14
Blues 31
Sharks 35
It's kind of ironic that after years of moaning for change, and then finally hearing this week it may be coming, we get a game at Eden Park that says Super 14 is just fine the way it is.
What more could anyone want? There was sunshine, a hard ground, a near full house, end-to-end football that was all thrills and spills, big hits, a bit of controversy, 66 points and 80 minutes of entertainment you aren't going to get from Coronation Street.
The only pity, for New Zealanders at least, is that the Blues were treated like a hot piece of toast - well buttered and then devoured.
Their forwards put a whole heap in. They never stopped running, were always where they needed to be. But the Sharks were so smart. They absorbed the collisions, stood off and then all so frequently pinched turnover ball with perfectly timed lightning raids.
It was a joy to watch - but frustrating to play against. It wouldn't have been so bad for the Blues if they had been afforded relief elsewhere but the Sharks hardly missed a tackle.
There was some enterprise and vision to the way the Blues used the ball but they couldn't advance with the speed they wanted because the Sharks kept burying bodies in the turf and then slowing the release.
It was clever. It was effective and it might just save a whole lot of time, trouble and expense if the Super 14 trophy is handed to the Sharks now.
This is the tough part of the season for the Sharks and they are in full cruise mode. As they did against the Chiefs last week, they changed the game's tempo with frightening ease.
For long periods, they would defend, defend, defend - win the ball back, thump it long and ask the Blues to start all over again. And then, boom, they would keep it in hand and attack the widest parts of the field at full tilt.
The Sharks didn't dominate possession or territory but they were lethal when they caught sight of the tryline.
"We do know how to win," said Sharks coach John Plumtree. "We won 12 games in a row in the Currie Cup and now four in Super 14, so I would say one of the qualities of this team is finding ways to win."
That ability was apparent 10 minutes from the end when the Blues were over the Sharks' line but Joe Rokocoko spilled it in the lunge. Blues coach Pat Lam says touch judge Chris Pollock told referee Marius Jonker that a Sharks player was offside.
Jonker overruled, the ball was kicked down the other end and the Sharks eventually won the scramble - breaking Blues' hearts with a dramatic 90-second turnaround.
It was especially hard for the Blues to accept, as they had to fight adversity even before kickoff. Paul Williams damaged his thigh warming up.
Winston Stanley came off the bench but there was no cover, so Lam called Lachie Munro, who was at the Auckland races. The Auckland first-five admitted he'd had one beer but was told to jump in his car anyway and he made it 20 minutes after kickoff.
That was a bit disruptive for the Blues but they know that the Sharks' victory was not reliant on that late change, nor the overruled call.
Ruan Pienaar, Rory Kockott and Frans Steyn had poise, control and vision. They stayed cool under pressure and the Sharks never made the mistake of getting caught in possession deep in their own half. It was a lesson on how to play away from home.
"They are the favourites and rightly so," said Lam. "They have a talented squad and a lot of depth. They have just won two games away from home and they are travelling nicely. But we are not out of this competition."
What the Sharks also did was highlight the little touch of class the Blues are missing in midfield. Taniela Moa and Jimmy Gopperth had their moments, they mostly played well.
Gopperth had a hand in one try, scored another and kicked well.
But Super Rugby has always been a tournament about playmakers. The very best sides, like the Sharks, Crusaders and Blues in their pomp, have worked off a foundation of control and stability and added some magic into the mix through their No 10.
The Blues haven't had that since Carlos Spencer bamboozled everyone in 2003. They need that back. Their forwards are tight, gutsy and more than useful at the set-piece.
The outside backs have pace and flair; they can score tries from all over the field. What they lacked yesterday was total control, a strutting first-five whom the Sharks knew they could never take their eyes off. The Blues showed enough to suggest they will go far. But not as far as the Sharks.
Blues 31 (J. Gopperth, I. Toeava, J.
Rokocoko tries; Gopperth 4 pens, 2 cons) Sharks 35 (JP Pietersen, J. Botes, S. Sykes, J. Smit tries; R Kockott 2 pens, drop goal, 3 cons).
