Super Rugby Pacific: Brumbies hold on for 25-20 win over bumbling Blues

At AAMI Park, Melbourne: Brumbies 25 (Penalty try 8min, Andy Muirhead 18min, Lachlan Lonergan 34min; Ryan Lonergan con, Lonergan 2 pen) Blues 20 (Ricky Riccitelli 13min, Tom Robinson 30min tries; Beauden Barrett 2 con, 2 pen). HT: 25-20.

Yellow cards: Caleb Clarke (Blues) 7min, James Lay (Blues) 8min.

No wonder the exhausted Brumbies players’ reaction was so muted after they beat the Blues 25-20 in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.

Because this Super Rugby Pacific match was, for spectators, as entertaining as watching a busker try to produce a couple of bangers on a busted guitar.

One can only imagine it was just as frustrating for the players, too.

Both sides fumbled their way through a scoreless second half in a match that was littered with penalties, turnovers, miscued passes and dropped balls.

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Maybe it was the Melbourne heat, or perhaps the underwhelming sensation that came with playing in front of a sparse crowd at AAMI Stadium for this Super Round match, that contributed to this game never getting out of second gear.

This, afterall, was the two heavyweights who slugged it out in the semifinal in Auckland last year, with the Blues emerging victors.

Given the Blues’ unconvincing effort, it seemed a lifetime since they thrashed the Highlanders 60-20 last week. The first half promised plenty, but the second stanza was a fizzer.

The Blues’ star-studded backline, chokka with All Blacks, arrived in town with the reputation for being able to use their acumen, strength and speed to splinter defences; however, there was precious little of that from some of the highest paid men in New Zealand rugby, blokes such as Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

The latter, at least, looked hungry in the first spell, but his midfield partner Ioane was a picture of frustration on several occasions, none more so than when he burst into space after halftime but was unable to get a pass away to the unmarked Tuivasa-Sheck.

At halftime referee Ben O’Keeffe should have dipped his whistle in a tub of ice – and not just because the mercury nudged the temperature towards the mid-30s.

O’Keeffe, who warned both sides to stop pushing their luck by breaching the offside line, whistled 15 penalties in the first 40 minutes; 10 went against the ill-disciplined Blues, who had left wing Caleb Clarke and tighthead prop James Lay yellow carded in the early exchanges.

The Brumbies suffered a major blow when they lost Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa with a failed HIA but their strategy to strangle the Kiwis worked.

It was ugly, but it was tough. And it paid dividends. Making a fast start is always a key mission statement for all teams, but that message must have got lost in the mail for the Blues.

It was a messy beginning for the New Zealanders.

The Blues conceded five consecutive penalties, had Clarke and Lay sin-binned and conceded a penalty try, all inside the first 10 minutes.

Given they were reduced to 13 men while Clarke and Lay sat in the cooler, the Blues did well to deliver an impressive counterpunch when hooker Ricky Riccitelli arrowed through the dozing defence to score his team’s first try.

When Clarke rejoined the action, the Blues, despite still being reduced to 14-men, appeared to have wrestled back the momentum.

Wrong. The Brumbies poured into the danger zone, and emphasised the importance of mastering the art of catch-and-pass under pressure to send right wing Andy Muirhead over in the corner.

Then came a moment of magic from Blues No 6 Tom Robinson. Sloppy ball retention from the Brumbies led to a turnover, the pill found a home in Robinson’s claws, and he launched into a spectacular 50m sprint to score.

A right-foot step left Brumbies prop James Slipper reaching for nothing as he breached the line as Robinson backed his speed and determination to beat fullback Tom Wright on the outside.

It was just a pity that the second stanza was so lame. But the Brumbies deserved the win.

The big moment

A turnover in the final minute, to the Brumbies, signalled the end of any chance the Blues had of winning this. The Blues, again, were held up on their feet and that signalled the end of another painful attempt to launch a decent attack.

MVP

Brumbies No 7 Rory Scott made almost 20 tackles in a game where the Blues couldn’t get going.

Match rating

4/10

That feels generous. With so many penalties (a total of 26 and 15 in the first half) this wasn’t a visual delight. The Blues’ intent to attack if opponents can’t keep possession could be a trump card, once they get into their groove in coming weeks. But we saw precious little of that.

The big picture

Teams that come up against the Blues know that you have to treasure possession, or they will use their speedy athletes to hurt you off turnover ball. It is just a question of whether they can hold the ball to get that done. The Blues’ next assignment is against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday night. The Brumbies are up against the Reds in Canberra.