Blues confident return of Barrett, Tuipulotu will steady ship for Crusaders showdown

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The Blues expect All Blacks star Beauden Barrett will be back in the saddle for Saturday’s pivotal Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Crusaders in Christchurch.

After using their proverbial “Get Out of Jail” card at Eden Park on Saturday night to claw out a last-ditch 31-30 victory over a gritty, and still winless, Moana Pasifika side, coach Leon MacDonald had to admit his men were fortunate to extend their win streak to four and climb a point ahead of the Crusaders into second on the standings.

But after a match in which his team were forced to muddle through without influential frontliners Barrett, Mark Telea, Hoskins Sotutu and Patrick Tuipulotu, and with Fin Christie and Rieko Ioane reduced to impact roles off the bench, MacDonald said he was confident the team would refind its groove in the visit to Christchurch.

Caleb Clarke goes in for a try for the Blues in their victory over Moana Pasifika at Eden Park on Saturday night.

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Caleb Clarke goes in for a try for the Blues in their victory over Moana Pasifika at Eden Park on Saturday night.

“I don’t think this has a big impact on next week’s game,” said the coach of an effort that required a time-up penalty try, on the back of two yellow cards for the visitors, to clinch victory. “We’ll be ready to go. We’ll make some key changes in key positions, and that’s going to help in some areas we were unhappy with.

“There was a lack of experience in certain positions. The pack got through some decent work, the scrum did a good job in Fiji last week and was strong again, and our lineout functioned pretty well bar one. It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Our discipline, which has been good all year, all of a sudden became poor. That’s something we can fix quickly because we know we can get that right.”

MacDonald said he expects both Barrett and Tuipulotu to be available to face the Crusaders. Barrett was a late withdrawal on Saturday after reporting Achilles tightness and Tuipulotu, who’s been battling a niggling knee issue, came through a hitout earlier in the day. Sotutu, who missed the game with illness, and Telea, out on designated rest, will also make timely returns.

When Fine Inisi crossed to put Moana Pasifika up 30-24, the Blues coaches were very nervous up in the box.

Hannah Peters/Getty Images

When Fine Inisi crossed to put Moana Pasifika up 30-24, the Blues coaches were very nervous up in the box.

Barrett reported during the game his Achilles flare-up was “nothing serious” and MacDonald agreed: “He should be fine … [though] it makes everyone a bit nervous when he starts reporting tightness there.”

For all that, there’s no denying this was a muddling and unconvincing Blues performance. For long periods they were simply outplayed by a Moana side who brought the physicality in spades and created by far the better opportunities. At one stage, from late in the first half to early in the second, the visitors rattled off 19 unanswered points to roar back from 17-3 down to 22-17 in front.

”Discipline,” explained the Blues coach. “We were getting pinged, and weren’t able to get our hands on the ball … we had no ability to attack for long periods, and were getting frustrated. We lost our composure for a period there, and the injection of Fin [Christie] and Rieks, guys with a bit of leadership, helped Dalts (Papalii) who was buried in the heavy work.”

But MacDonald conceded that when replacement Moana back Fine Inisi finished a spectacular move featuring three brilliant offloads with a dozen minutes left, and D’Angelo Leuila had a conversion that would have gotten the visitors out by eight, there were a few anxious looks in the coaches’ box.

Rieko Ioane and Ofa Tu'ungafasi celebrate a narrow escape for the Blues over Moana Pasifika at Eden Park.

Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Rieko Ioane and Ofa Tu’ungafasi celebrate a narrow escape for the Blues over Moana Pasifika at Eden Park.

”We weren’t feeling great, and were starting to sweat. We had to nail the next job and kick off well, compete well. We got there in the end. There are lots of parts of our game we can tidy up. It wasn’t a polished performance. But it’s four points, and in a week’s time the table will see four points. That’s the main thing. We’ve lost some games when we’ve played pretty well and got no points, so I’m quite happy at the moment.”

And if there was one abiding takeaway for the Blues, it was the way they kept their cool in a tight spot at the finish to heap the pressure on, earn those two yellow cards, and ultimately force the referee into calling the penalty try that decided the contest.

“The guys took control at the end and put a lot of pressure on, stayed calm and got the job done. That was pleasing. We came up against a very passionate and proud Moana team who threw everything they had at us. They were outstanding. For 80 minutes they were relentless … they should be proud because they put us under a lot of pressure.”

Expect a different Blues team this week. Both in personnel and performance.

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