Analysis - Despite a dominant performance, the Blues and Moana Pasifika rivalry promises to be one of the biggest features of Super Rugby, writes Jamie Wall.
Moana Pasifika Alex McRobbie during the Super Rugby Pacific match between Moana Pasifika and the Blues held at Mt Smart Stadium. Photo: PhotoSport / Brett Phibbs
OK, so it wasn't exactly the classic match up this burgeoning rivalry probably needed, but the Blues' 46-16 win over Moana Pasifika last night at Eden Park still threw up plenty of storylines.
The keys to this one were to make people show up and then make sure they came back: the former was achieved with a crowd a shade under 15,000, not bad considering the issues Super Rugby Pacific has had to deal with so far this season. The latter might just depend on the rest of Moana Pasifika's campaign and what sort of moves they make in acquiring players for next year.
But the blueprint (pardon the pun) is in place for Blues vs Moana Pasifika games at Eden Park to become the number one event for the two teams, outside of playoff footy. The Blues deserve credit for making an effort to enhance the gameday experience, as well as lowering ticket prices to encourage families to attend. Moana Pasifika deserve credit for starting the game with a hiss and a roar, going 19 phases and almost scoring a try off the opening kickoff.
For the first half an hour, it was a very even contest. Then, like clockwork, the Blues simply reverted to the one area of the game they knew would trump anything Moana Pasifika could throw at them. Lineout drives, clinical and powerful, are almost impossible to stop for any team - let alone one missing a ton of players through Covid and in their first season of playing together anyway. Kurt Eklund was the beneficiary of the adjustment by the Blues, bagging a hat trick off the back of the work of his well-drilled forward pack.
All three of those were a direct result of the most repetitive storyline around Moana Pasifika this season - indiscipline. To get a lineout in the corner for a drive you need to have the ball kicked there first, which Stephen Perofeta was having no trouble doing from the positions Moana Pasifika were infringing from.
Take away those infringements and you can take away those tries. Take away those tries and the scoreline all of a sudden becomes far more compelling. It's a stretch to say Moana Pasifika were their own worst enemies, as the Blues certainly played well enough to deserve their win, but they certainly aren't making it easy for themselves.
Perhaps, as stand-in coach Dale McLeod said post match, it's a case of Moana Pasifika getting used to the strict refereeing interpretations at Super Rugby level. That's a fair call, because when it comes to red cards, everyone is struggling right now. All four games on Friday and Saturday night had men sent from the field, which is probably some sort of record, with Caleb Clarke's dismissal set to be the most talked about.
Caleb Clarke red card for his knee to the head #BLUvMOA | #SuperRugbyPacific pic.twitter.com/w9nwPLgYRh
— Saffas Abroad Rugby (@SaffasRugby) April 2, 2022
Given that they both took each other out in the air, there's almost a case for both Clarke and Moana Pasifika winger Tomasi Alosio to have both been sent from the field in that incident - or neither, as Blues coach Leon McDonald was quick to point out after the game when asked about it.
The real question that needs to be asked, since there were more cards flashed than an ill-advised trip to Sky City during a big night out, is whether this course of action regarding dangerous play is actually having any effect. Reducing the tolerance for red cards just seems to result in more red cards, with the disincentive far less now that Super Rugby has introduced the 20 minute replacement rule.
Players are still getting hurt - McLeod confirmed that Alosio was knocked out cold and doesn't even remember what happened to him. Plus Clarke leaving the field didn't even seem to hinder the Blues that much anyway, they still won by 30 points and it's clear that coaches have figured out decent failsafe plans for when they are reduced to 14 players.
What happens to Clarke at the judiciary will be interesting, along with Shilo Klein from the Crusaders, Nemani Nagusa from the Drua and Tuaina Taii Tualima from the Reds. And that might not even be all of it, with another match between the Hurricanes and Chiefs kicking off this afternoon.
