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Blues No 8: Hoskins Sotutu charges into Jordie Barrett and Peter Lakai of the Hurricanes.
At Sky Stadium, Wellington: Hurricanes 19: (Tyrel Lomax try 25min, Salesi Rayasi 46min, Josh Moorby 50min; Jordie Barrett 2 con)
Blues 25: (Patrick Tuipulotu try 19min, Caleb Clarke 35min, Hoskins Sotutu 39min; Stephen Perofeta 2 con, pen). HT: 22-5
Yellow cards: Isaia Walker-Leawere (Hurricanes) 32min, Cameron Suafoa (47min)
The Blues overcame a controversial try to Hurricanes fullback Josh Moorby to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Brumbies last week.
The Hurricanes fullback appeared to knock on in the act of scoring in the 50th minute, but referee Nic Berry was happy that he was always in control of the ball and awarded the five-pointer.
Jordie Barrett’s subsequent conversion drew the Hurricanes to within three points at 22-19, but the Blues – inspired by the outstanding Finlay Christie and Hoskins Sotutu – did just enough to close the game out despite a misfiring lineout.
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The win owed to a display of no little defensive grit as the Hurricanes hammered away in the final seconds for the try that would have won the game.
However, the Blues defended desperately under their own sticks – with Sotutu again prominent – to turn the ball over and secure a valuable win.
The early-season trend of teams conceding heavily when they are down to 14 men continued in the capital, when the Blues scored two first-half tries with Hurricanes lock Isaia Walker-Leawere in the sin-bin.
The 12-point burst put them in control of a game which was relatively even until that point, and it will leave Hurricanes coach Jason Holland pulling his hair out after Ardie Savea’s ill discipline dominated the headlines this week.
It was an act of Blues ill discipline that helped the Hurricanes to bounce back from a 22-5 halftime deficit. Lock Cameron Suafoa was sent to the sin bin for a high shot on Devan Flanders, and Moorby scored minutes later.
The Blues decided to take the Hurricanes on up the middle, and while it wasn’t always pretty it was effective – particularly when Sotutu and No 12 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck got their hands on the ball.
Tuivasa-Sheck continued his good start to the season with some strong carries, outpointing Barrett in their personal duel with the latter almost exclusively assigned to defensive duties.
Rieko Ioane, mindful of blowing a try last week against the Brumbies, was also far more effective as a distributor when he got into space.
The big moment
It took an 80-minute effort from the Blues – and a crucial last-second counterruck to get the job done. Coach Leon MacDonald will be thrilled.
MVP
Finlay Christie won a high-quality battle with Cam Roigard in the No 9 jersey. The All Black was sharp around the ruck as the Blues adopted a narrow approach, while his defence was huge: he pulled off a trysaving tackle on Jordie Barrett in the second half. However, Hoskins Sotutu was simply massive on both sides of the ball.
Match rating
8/10. The opening quarter was forgettable, but it developed into a compelling and physical encounter between two sides who can beat anyone on their day.
The big picture
The Hurricanes welcome back Savea back next Friday for the visit of the wobbling Waratahs. The Blues have a grand final rematch against the Crusaders to look forward to at Eden Park – and the Crusaders will be smarting from their shock loss to the Drua on Saturday afternoon. The Blues will be sweating on lock Patrick Tuipulotu, who had to be replaced on Saturday after hurting himself in the process of scoring a first half try.
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