Roger Tuivasa-Sheck makes his Blues debut, Will Jordan shines and Scott McLaughlin wins his opening Indycar race. Video / NZ Herald / Sky Sport / Spark Sport / FIBA
Oh how quickly context can change.
Deep into their opening Super Rugby match in Dunedin on Saturday night the Blues were well on their way to a comfortable victory against the Hurricanes.
Ten minutes and three tries later they were humbled – the four-hour bus trip back to Queenstown assuminga very different mood. So, too, the complexion of the Blues' season – even at this early stage.
One defeat does not undo the 70 minutes of quality work from the Blues. Their forward pack in particular set the tone with a physically commanding performance that featured two maul tries.
Results matter, though. Last year one underwhelming defeat to the Highlanders in Dunedin cost the Blues a place in the Super Rugby Aotearoa final. This loss could, yet, prove similarly brutal.
Blowing a 32-14 second half lead does not align with aspirations to improve on last year's breakthrough transtasman success.
While Blues coach Leon MacDonald knows there's plenty to build from, frustration was his overriding emotion after the 33-32 defeat sealed by Ardie Savea's 79th minute try.
"It's not one of joy that's for sure," MacDonald said. "We spoke during the week about how they'd hang in there and keep coming. We had some good momentum and opportunities to close them off completely but we weren't able to do so.
Ardie Savea scores the winning try. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
"These games hurt. We've been here before. We're going to sit in a rocky seat for four hours back to Queenstown and have to dwell on it. They kept chucking stuff at us and managed to get there in the end which was pretty heartbreaking."
The Blues controlled the vast majority of the contest only to rue their final quarter capitulation as fatigue and possible complacency set in. MacDonald suggested missing last week's postponed match against Moana Pasifika perhaps contributed to being rundown late.
"That's sport isn't it? We executed our game plan really well. The tweaking is minor, really. We're not going to have to change a lot. Whether or not missing that first week in that last five minutes... we didn't have the energy they did, I'm not sure, but we dropped the ball at the end.
"There were more errors in that last 10 minutes than the first 70 so that was a frustration for us."
In his belated Super Rugby debut, after missing the NPC season due to Auckland's lockdown, headline offseason recruit Roger Tuivasa-Sheck beat three defenders, offloaded three times and ran for 55 metres from 11 carries.
For a maiden outing at second five-eighth, the former Warriors captain impressed but he was fended off by Bailyn Sullivan for Savea's final try and gave away two penalties as he continues to acclimatise.
"I thought Roger had a very good game considering it was his first real game of Super Rugby," MacDonald said. "He was always dangerous on attack. He played within our structures really well. You could see he's still learning. There's some little detail around the breakdown where he got penalised at one point but next time you watch him play, he won't do that. That's the way he is. There's some good signs there."
Anton Segner of the Blues. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Caleb Clarke rekindled his 2020 form on the left wing, regularly beating opponents on the outside with pace and snatching a restart. Clocking 103 metres, Clarke was inspired to honour Va'aiga Tuigamala and Joeli Vidiri, the two great Auckland wingers and Pacific rugby icons who died on Friday.
The Blues donned black armbands; Clarke pointed to the heavens after his first half try and MacDonald acknowledged their respective influence.
"Joeli features on a lot of our videos when we look back at some of the Blues legends of the past and Inga is earlier again but I remember watching a lot of Inga growing up," MacDonald said. "He was always the smiling assassin. It's a really sad day for the families of those two men and rugby."
The Blues are hopeful Beauden Barrett and Dalton Papalii will return from head knocks when they host the Chiefs on Saturday at Eden Park but All Blacks blindside Akira Ioane will be sidelined for several weeks after fracturing his ankle at training last week.
Stand in Blues skipper Tom Robinson, a strong presence in the pack against the Hurricanes alongside standout lock Josh Goodhue, demanded a response this week.
"We weren't ruthless and didn't quite close the door and that's what happened in the 70th minute," Robinson said. "Even in the first half the only opportunities we gave them were on the back of our mistakes. We gave them a sniff and when you give a team like the Hurricanes go forward they're hard to stop. It's a tough lesson but we'll be back."
