Blues vs Hurricanes
The other match of the round took place at a sold-out Eden Park, with an improved Blues side taking on the Hurricanes. Media presence around the Auckland franchise was high, with All-Black 10’s Beauden Barrett and Dan Carter both joining this year.
The ‘Canes claimed a penalty goal through fly-half Garden Bachop before the talented Blues backline struck in the 12th minute, with All-Black Ioane setting up winger Caleb Clarke to speed in under the posts. Blues 7-3 Hurricanes.
Minutes later, some scintillating backline play by the away side saw hooker Dane Coles storm down the wing to dot down in the corner, powering through the desperate tackle of old mate Barrett to get the score. ‘Canes players then engulfed him in their celebrations, but the cool-headed 10 laughed and soaked it up well. B 7-8 H.
Not long after, the match kept on giving to the hyped-up fans, with the Blues scoring after interplay between Barret, wing Telea and inside-centre Faiane, with the powerful 12 barging over next to the posts. B 14- 8 H.
A disallowed try for the Hurricanes didn’t put them off, as they scored in the 26th minute through wing Lam. The teams went into half-time with two tries apiece, the scores standing at 14-13.
No points were scored in the first 10 after the break, until a spot-on grubber from Faiane saw replacement back row Dalton Papalii dive on the ball in the corner. The try was converted by the in-form Black, who took the score to 21-13. Afterwards, he slotted another three conversions, taking their lead up to 17 points- 30-13.
Towards the end of the game, a consolation try was scored by ‘Canes replacement 9 Booth to take the scores to 30-20. It was a game with a packed crowd, and packed full of excitement. The improved Blues team lived up to the hype, with the backline particularly impressing. The away side had moments of class, but mistakes cost them- their ball was turned over 10 times by the quality Blues back row, in comparison to the ‘Canes 4 turnovers. An impressive start by the Auckland side, but much work still to do for the Hurricanes.
I wonder how Warren Gatland felt when Bryn did that?!!