BLUES 17
STORMERS 14
KEY POINTS:
It was the last bullet in the chamber, final throw of the dice, all of those things for the Blues.
And while it is unfair to compare their sporting prowess, Ben Atiga showed the same clinical precision as Tiger Woods on the final green last week, when he kicked the Blues to an escape route victory.
It broke a two-game losing streak and cracked the self-inflicted deadlock at Eden Park. Like Wood's victory it was not a major but it could be a significant step in the Blues attempts to revive their Super 14 fortunes.
After the promise of the opening games, they stumbled against the Sharks and Force. That pattern began to re-emerge in the second half against the Stormers as the Blues coughed up a 14-6 lead and the Stormers drew level with 10 minutes left. It had been a grinding game, one devoid of much continuity or enterprise as the forwards worked overtime to deny their rivals any quality possession.
But in the tense last stanza, the Stormers fell to the pressure and their own mistakes and gifted several penalty attempts to Atiga.
The 24-year-old only took his place when the Blues had to revamp their lineup as five-eighths Nick Evans failed to satisfy the medical staff he had recovered fully from his concussion. Isaia Toeava moved into five-eighths and with Isa Nacewa also injured, Atiga had to be chosen for his goalkicking. He had missed three kicks and was struggling with a damaged leg when the Stormers were forced to concede an offside penalty. Atiga stepped up, told himself to "keep his head down" and succeeded with the 42m angled kick.
Beaten coach Rassie Erasmus and Blues rival David Nucifora were remarkably realistic in their match assessments. Erasmus accepted the penalty ruling and that in the washup, the Stormers were not good enough to maintain their unbeaten offshore run.
For Nucifora there was relief. They had saved a game which they appeared to let drift when lock Kurtis Haiu was caught punching and conceded a penalty. There did not appear a way back, not with the sloppy ball retention and handling errors which had blighted the Blues second half. Not until they got a break and Atiga converted.
"For us the game today was about winning obviously and we had some struggles to be able to win the game with the changes that we had to make during the week," Nucifora said.
"It was not a pretty game but it is a game that we will look back on and it will end up being a very valuable four points for us. It is a game where we want to bank the points and move on to the next game to be honest."
That contest is against the Bulls and Saturday's victory will only be valuable if the Blues repeat that result and then push on to the playoffs. They ground out this result but an ugly victory is much prettier than any defeat.
