Rugby: Blues' win over Lions vital to ease pinch

Lolagi Visinia was part of a Blues Super 15 side that fumbled its chances against the Cheetahs. Photo / Gallo Images

With tough away games on horizon, captain Kaino’s team needs victory, better basic skills.

After the Blues' next game, against the Lions at North Harbour on Saturday, Jerome Kaino will be honoured for reaching his milestone of 100 Super Rugby matches with a gift from New Zealand Rugby of a pounamu mere.

It will be a fitting and well-deserved reward, a traditional Maori weapon for someone who plays with a warrior's spirit, but it's one he would probably gladly trade for a victory. As the Blues' new captain this season, Kaino has yet to experience a win.

He thought long and hard before agreeing to replace Luke Braid as captain this season because he knew he would encounter some tough times and, after only three matches, the pressure is already mounting on his team and coach John Kirwan.

A victory over the Lions, who will also be travelling from South Africa, will open the release valve a little, but there will be little respite because the Blues' assignments to follow are extremely tough ones - away matches against the high-flying Hurricanes, the defending champion Waratahs, and a Chiefs team which this weekend put the Crusaders to the sword.

As hard and as well as he played in the 25-24 defeat to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, loose forward Kaino will once again have to dig deep against the Lions to inspire his team to break the drought. Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu and Charles Piutau, who were also outstanding, have big parts to play too.

"We've got a lot of guys who are quite inexperienced [but] we've also got a lot of experienced guys in the pack," Kaino said straight after the loss at Free State Stadium.

"I think we need to regroup when we get back home and work on repetition on execution and basic skills. We need to put our heads down.

"We know where we are in this competition - we've got our backs to the wall after three rounds and we need to dig deep when we get back home and get some wins.

"It's important the boys remember the feeling [of disappointment]. There are a lot of gutted guys in the changing room. We need to get back on the plane and work hard to turn things around.

"It's never easy being in a losing changing room but the good thing is we have the opportunity to work hard again this week."

The decision by referee Rohan Hoffman to penalise the Blues in the final three minutes for a lineout maul technicality - handing Joe Pietersen an easy penalty kick to effectively seal a match the Cheetahs hardly deserved to win - was, as Kirwan said, "gut-wrenching".

They shouldn't have been in that position, though. Minutes earlier they were in Cheetahs territory but replacement prop Sam Prattley's illegal bind at a scrum handed the home side a chance to clear, and they took full advantage.

Also, early in the second half Braid dropped the ball less than a metre from the line in what was a brilliant chance at a converted try. Others dropped passes in similar positions.

As Kaino said - basic skills.