Two Cents Rugby's Blues fan-eye review of the 47-26 home defeat to the Hurricanes has put a series of numbers behind what the Eden Park crowd watched in real time, with one set-piece, a missed tackle count that ran out of the Blues' control inside the first half, and a flanker named Vaea Fifita turning the contest in twenty minutes.
The channel's host, an open Blues supporter, struggled to find a positive in the first 60 minutes of the game before reluctantly handing it to a Hurricanes side that has now done the season double over Auckland. "My Blues — pretty well beaten by the bloody Hurricanes. That's the double the Hurricanes have done over the Blues. Another time they put 40 points on. 47 to 26," he said.
The trigger for the rout, in his telling, was a charge-down by Hurricanes flanker Vaea Fifita on Beauden Barrett — not the first such moment he has produced this season. "Vaea Fifita has had a cracking season here in New Zealand since he's kind of signed over from Japan to play a year of Super Rugby. He's been looking incredible for the Canes, and he's a very adept player at a charge-down — and skilled enough to go through and regather. Not the first time we've seen that from him this year in Super Rugby. He does it to Beauden Barrett. Charge down, pick and go," the host said.
The second try, less than two minutes later, was scored by Hurricanes winger Fehi Fineanganofo Naufahu — the same player who, by full time, would equal the Super Rugby Pacific record for tries in a single regular season.
"It is a cracking try from the Hurricanes. We are 14 points to nil up, and the Blues are just disorganised in comparison. And sometimes it's not even the Canes mucking them up. The Blues will do it to themselves," the Two Cents host said.
The statistical body-blow was the missed-tackle line. "They've only missed six tackles. Guess how many the Blues have missed? If you think it's 10, 15 or 20, you're too low — because it was 22 missed tackles in one half of rugby. That is more than the Hurricanes missed in the entire game. You can't be doing that," he said.
Fineanganofo's record-equalling moment came on a Brad Weber-Hugh Yoce chip out wide. Two Cents flagged a potential forward pass but acknowledged it would not have changed the outcome. "I'm sure that pass went forward. In the scheme of things, that's the bonus point. Fineanganofo gets a try, so he equals the try-scoring record for Super Rugby. So congrats to him," he said.
The host singled out one Blues player as the lone positive: Anton Segner. "The best story of the first half for the Blues is Anton Segner winning turnovers. That's about as good as news got, because he was a beast at the breakdown. He was making a lot of tackles in the first 30 minutes. That's about as good as you've got to cheer for the Blues," he said. Segner finished with four turnovers and 23 tackles on Two Cents' count.
For the Hurricanes, the standout was halfback Ariana Enari, in for the injured Cam Roigard. "Enari — three try assists. Vining on all fours, six defenders beaten. There's some good stories here for the Canes. It's a good win. Done the double over the Blues," he said.
The broader conclusion from Two Cents was that the top of the New Zealand conference is set, with the Hurricanes and Chiefs now the obvious favourites to meet in a grand final, and the Blues effectively asked to prove they are anything more than third-place padding.
"Looks like them for the final, too — like a grand final. But I don't know — who knows? Finals footy can be a funny thing," he said.
