Cheifs 13
Winning ugly is infinitely better than losing ugly and the Blues won't care they didn't get any extra points for aesthetics last night.
Many people would have seen this match as a mini All Black audition, with more than 20 All Blacks on show, but the weather was the dominant figure in Hamilton last night.
It was a great shame, given the attacking resources on both sides and importance of the match.
At times the accuracy was excellent, defying the dreadful conditions, but at others it was almost comical and in such a low-scoring match, errors stood out like one of the light towers in the Hamilton darkness.
The tone was set inside the first minute after Mike Delany slipped attempting to clear the kickoff. After 36 seconds of slapstick comedy, Liam Messam scored in the corner. Blues coach Pat Lam might not have seen the funny side.
Both teams didn't heed the warning and attempted to defy the dreadful conditions in the opening 10 minutes, pushing too many passes when players needed to take the contact. Thankfully, the match settled down.
It required a good kicking game and players to put their arm around the pill and show it some respect.
The Chiefs sensibly kicked to get out of their territory playing into the wind, often opting for the up-and-under or box kick. They realised that in these conditions, it was probably better to not have the ball.
It meant the Blues were handed plenty of possession but they struggled to find a way through a resolute defence.
They had one golden opportunity to score a try and might feel aggrieved they weren't awarded a penalty try on the half-hour.
With their scrum dominant, they set scrum after scrum in the shadow of the posts and the Chiefs did all they could to disrupt things.
It was a passage that lasted six minutes and the sight of Ranger practising his goalkicking technique on the wing was telling.
The spoiling approach of the Chiefs pushed referee Ian Smith's patience but he looked reluctant to award a penalty try against the home side and it was almost inevitable they would survive.
"It's one of the true parts of the game and you should get the benefit of the doubt when you are putting that much pressure on, especially in that part of the field," Blues captain Keven Mealamu said. "It was disappointing not to come away from something there."
The Chiefs conceded 10 penalties in the first half to the Blues' three and continued to infringe in the second spell.
"That was the difference," Chiefs coach Ian Foster said. "If you go through the game, it was pretty even everywhere else, but we conceded too many penalties."
It meant they had to dig in. After all that hard work, it would have pained them to concede their first try in absurd circumstances. Sitiveni Sivivatu clearly felt it was his turn to audition for the Keystone Kops in the 54th minute, batting the ball as Tim Nanai-Williams was about to gather and allowing Payne to kick ahead and score a converted try.
It was the first time the Blues led in the match but it was a slender one and the match hung in the balance until the end.
The Chiefs gained ascendancy in the scrums when John Afoa went off with a knee injury on the hour but they gave what advantage they had in the lineouts to the Blues when Aled de Malmanche entered the game. For every ebb, there was a flow.
The Chiefs had their chances to win but a combination of errors, needless penalties and good Blues defence restricted them to just a Delany penalty in the second half.
"It was a really courageous effort in those conditions to come back from 10-0 down against a highly motivated Chiefs team," Lam said.
"It just shows you don't often need a dry ground and to play a certain way."
It was appropriate the game concluded with both sides coughing up the ball in the driving rain. It was entertaining but not the sort most had hoped for. Chiefs 13 (L. Messam, S. Taumalolo tries; M. Delany pen) Blues 16 (J. Payne try; L. McAlister 3 pens, con). HT: 10-6.
