Rugby: Otahuhu to the front row rescue

'Big Daddy' Keven Mealamu leaves Pedrie Wannenburg of the Bulls behind. Photo / Getty Images

Rugby sages bang on about the foundations for any rugby victory being set up front, even in the modern game and the age of spread defences where jersey numbers are irrelevant.

While the Blues deserve widespread collective praise for lowering the frontrunning Bulls on Saturday, special mention needs to be made of their entire Otahuhu club front row.

When John Afoa retired early with a damaged back, replacement tighthead prop Tevita Mailau joined captain Keven Mealamu and Charlie Faumuina for the scrummaging battle.

It had not started well with Faumuina penalised for dropping the opening scrum. But when the clock stopped at Eden Park and the score read 32-17 in favour of the Blues, the clubmates could take a great deal of the plaudits.

Mealamu has played more than 100 games for the Blues, but Faumuina and Mailau are rookies, used mainly as subs in the last few seasons, when games have been decisively won or lost or when the main men, Tony Woodcock and John Afoa, were crocked.

"I was comfortable. I worked really hard pre-season with my trainer with a focus on being fitter and stronger," the 125kg Faumuina said.

"I think our set pieces improved as the game went on, but we still have a long way to go. It was pretty busy, there was a lot of running and it was great having Kevvy there. He guided us and we did not want to let the man down."

The Blues were wary of the Bulls set piece at the weekend, more so their lineout artillery but also their scrum after Woodcock's no show with a neck injury. When Afoa disappeared early those concerns would have soared.

But once the Otahuhu trio warmed to their task there was no drama while they were all prominent and motoring around the field as a capacity 17,700 crowd roared them to their success.

"It was a big ask on Faumuina and Mailau, but 'Big Daddy' [Mealamu] looked after them and they looked after him in a superb effort," Lam chuckled later.

The Blues had started nervously, they made too many errors and were sloppy early with their catching and passing skills.

However, they believed their all-action portfolio suited their squad and was the best method to attack the Super 14.

The Bulls arrived as the Super 14 champions and with an unbeaten run this season, while the Blues had a patchy three-win-three-loss record.

When the dust and smoke cleared, the Blues had scrapped and smashed their way to victory. Statistics bore out their supremacy.

They dominated the breakdowns two to one, demanded the Bulls make almost three times as many tackles and forced them to concede more penalties, turnovers and missed tackles.

All that pressure saw Pedrie Wannenburg and Flip van der Merwe sinbinned for misdemeanours by South African referee Craig Joubert.

"We have made it too easy for opposition teams with intercept passes and mistakes, but this was another step up in that area and the physicality was huge and that is another reflection of where the team is," Lam said.

"Big Daddy" Mealamu walked into the aftermatch without any signs of the physical onslaught he and his team had been through although he admitted victory usually meant a day's reprieve before the pain returned.

The Blues honours list was full from the front row to fullback. Naturally some were more prominent than others with Jerome Kaino immense on the blindside, Viliame Ma'afu an unstoppable unit at No 8, Kurtis Haiu and Anthony Boric sorting out the lineouts and nutting out the hard slog while Serge Lilo scavenged relentlessly.

Halfback Alby Mathewson and first five-eighths Stephen Brett were decisive and outpointed their test opposites, Benson Stanley and Rene Ranger were a complementary pairing while the back three gutsed through the work.

It had been a very physical test, Mealamu said, and it was not until late in the game when they knew the Bulls had to score more than twice to win, that his side felt secure..