Three losses in their first four games for the Blues is the sort of start nobody could have predicted for last year’s champions.
No disrespect to the Brumbies, who were tough up front and clawed their way back into the game after being down 20-10 at halftime, but the Blues of 2024 would have bulldozed their way to victory.
The lights dimmed
Before a fracture to his hand forced Beauden Barrett off at halftime, he was the star of the Blues’ backline at first-five.
Barrett’s had a mixed reception since he returned from playing in Japan. But his most vocal critics would have struggled to find anything to complain about in his first 40 minutes against the Brumbies.
The clocks first felt as if they’d started to turn back for Barrett last weekend at fullback for the Blues in their 33-29 win against the Hurricanes. At first-five on Friday night his rejuvenation was complete, as he hunted out space on attack and flew for 30m in the 16th minute to score a brilliant solo try.
He was the key to the 10-point halftime lead, and how quickly his broken hand mends could make a massive difference to the Blues’ fortunes in the rest of the season.
Come the hour, come the man
Moana Pasifika’s 40-31 defeat of the Hurricanes in Albany on Saturday had two remarkable features.
One was that Moana played the second half without Ardie Savea on the field to inspire them. Bravo to the side for playing their hearts out anyway.
The other was how organised starting first-five Patrick Pellegrini was. In a competition where many teams have been guilty of aimless kicking of the ball downfield, Pellegrini kicked to open spaces, or had the height on his kicks to give his chasers the chance to harass the defenders.
Add in his impressive goal-kicking and he looks like the best off-season signing (he came to Moana after two seasons with the Coventry club in England) Moana have ever made.
Playing to the name
Moana’s blindside flanker Miracle Fai’ilagi has shown huge promise since he was signed to Moana in 2023, directly from his club in Samoa.
His grit and strength were rewarded on Saturday with bullocking, close-range tries in the 18th, 43rd and 65th minutes. Given his huge work-rate, he deserved the huge delight his teammates and Moana fans at Albany took in his try-scoring.
More thrills in Lautoka
The biggest upset in a weekend of them was the Fijian Drua’s 28-24 defeat of the table-topping Chiefs in Lautoka, in front of the most wonderfully vibrant home crowd in Super Rugby.
Rain pelting down in the first half threatened to make the match almost farcical, as terrific handlers on both sides saw the drenched ball slip out of their hands at crazy angles.
But when the downpour stopped in the second spell, it was the Drua who seized on the chance to play as if the field was firm and dry.
There were plenty of highlights, but as a lasting memory it was hard to go past Drua wing Ponepati Loganimasi’s try in the 65th minute. It had everything.
Loganimasi gathered a hopeful Chiefs’ punt 55m from the tryline. He streaked past three potential tacklers. With 40m to the line he kicked ahead, and his blistering speed meant he led the chase.
The ball slithered to a halt 15m from the line. Now was the time for control and, with the command of a Chris Wood, Loganimasi gently nudged the ball into the in-goal area and dived on it for a try that would be crucial in the Drua’s victory.
Back on the horse
A chance to get back in the winner’s circle rolls up next Saturday night in Hamilton for the Chiefs when they play the Blues. After the upset in Lautoka and the Blues’ travails, the contest will be even keener than the traditional Auckland-Waikato rivalry always makes it.
Just what they needed
The Crusaders needed a statement against the Reds in Christchurch. They made it, by never looking in danger, winning 43-19. The men from Queensland have a strong backbone of Wallabies, and the conditions, sunny and warm, suited their willingness to move the ball.
But from the moment Cullen Grace plunged through the scattered remains of a maul to score in the sixth minute it was clear the Crusaders were going to give their fans a highly enjoyable Sunday afternoon.
If the Crusaders produce the same commitment next Saturday afternoon against the Force, then lurking at the bottom of the table, as they were before the Reds’ game, will be just an unpleasant memory.
Once-in-a-generation player
Will Jordan, whose display in the first half against the Reds was astonishing even by his standards, proved yet again that he belongs in the circle of greatness occupied by the magical Dan Carter. In simple terms, when Jordan’s on song, like Carter, there isn’t a single weakness in his game.
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