Rugby: Blues left to rue moment of folly

Dan Carter is hammered by Joe Rokocoko who was injured late in the second half. Photo / Getty Images

For long periods the Blues played sensible rugby. They were circumspect and rational, traits which have not always been linked to their work in recent seasons.

They matched the Crusaders on the scoreboard and were making their hosts battle as their Saturday night clash in Christchurch headed for the final quarter.

Then came the moment of folly, the type of action which used to accompany the Blues far too regularly.

The weird part was that the brain-snap came from left wing Rudi Wulf, who is one of their more sensible and disciplined men.

He had cleverly retrieved a box kick near his 22m and rather than taking the tackle or even stepping into touch, Wulf tried to turn defence into counter-attack.

He hurled a pass towards three teammates in midfield, but his peripheral vision failed to spot Crusaders midfielder Ryan Crotty.

The pass picked out Crotty to perfection, the converted try gave the Crusaders the boost of an eight-point lead and the impetus for their 33-20 victory.

In that final quarter it all unravelled for the Blues. No 8 Viliame Ma'afu hobbled off with thigh and neck injuries, Joe Rokocoko limped away and Stephen Brett wobbled off with concussion as the Crusaders lifted their work.

The Blues began the match with some impressive driving play from their pack while Brett, in some strong form on his old homepatch, kept the points ticking over with penalties and a dropped goal.

Second five-eighth Benson Stanley was dinged early, concussed after a head clash with Crotty, but the side held tight through that early interruption.

The lineouts were stronger and although the Crusaders' scrum appeared to have an edge the Blues were able to make inroads with their concerted driving work.

They conceded one try when Daniel Carter beat the rush defence to offload for George Whitelock to score, but the Blues were more patient and disciplined.

They played the percentages and made the Crusaders work very hard.

"Obviously the second half was going to go either way at 16-15 and the intercept try was a big turning point for us," Blues coach Pat Lam said.

From there the game disappeared as the Crusaders turned up the heat while the list of injuries and rate of mistakes rose. They nearly nicked a bonus point, though.

After halfback Alby Mathewson wriggled through the middle of a ruck to score, replacement hooker Tom McCartney was denied a try by the covering speed of Zac Guildford in the corner.

The Blues never retreated, they never backed off, but they just lacked a little finesse and a dollop of fortune which can have such a bearing on these tight confrontations.

Lam was far from despondent after the game. Once the Crusaders pinched their intercept try, his team was chasing the game and made more errors.

"Also we had a lot of reckless kicking out there across the board which put us under a lot of pressure as well, but I'm pretty proud of the effort," he said.

The Blues' wounded list has grown but they have a bye this week before they resume their programme against the Brumbies.

They hope Anthony Tuitavake, Luke McAlister and Chris Lowrey will also get in some rugby this weekend as they work their way back to full fitness.