The Auckland Blues held on to beat the Wellington Hurricanes 30-20 in their Super Rugby Aotearoa match played in front of 41,000 fans yesterday, the largest crowd in 15 years for a Super Rugby match at Eden Park.
The drawcard for fans was not only the opportunity to attend live rugby again, without limitations on crowd size or requirements to social distance or wear masks. Many turned out to see the debut for the Blues of All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett, who previously played all of his 120 Super Rugby matches for the Hurricanes.
Barrett started at fullback on Sunday, but spent some of his time at first receiver, doubling in that role with flyhalf Otere Black, who helped the Blues win five of seven matches in the full Super Rugby tournament before the five-nation competition was abandoned because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Photo: AFP
Yesterday’s match was another joyous celebration of the return of live rugby, following Saturday’s opening match in Dunedin between the Otago Highlanders and the Hamilton Chiefs, which drew a capacity crowd of 22,000.
That was the first major professional rugby match to be played in front of a crowd since the suspension of most sports worldwide in March.
“I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who came out. I know we’ve been through tough times and to have a crowd like this for a Super Rugby game is pretty special,” Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu said.
The crowd was treated to an outstanding match in which both teams demonstrated touch and skill; more than would have been expected after players have gone three months since their last game.
The first half was fast-paced and exciting, ending with the Blues leading by a point at 14-13.
The second half was less so, but the Blues built a convincing lead with a try to back rower Dalton Papali’i and a series of penalties to Black, who kept a flawless kicking record.
The Hurricanes were on the wrong end of a heavy penalty count as referees again took a strict line at breakdowns. There were more than 30 penalties in the match between the Highlanders and Chiefs and a high number again yesterday, making continuity difficult.
The Hurricanes repeatedly were penalized for offside play or for leaving their feet at breakdowns.
The Blues scored the first try of the match through winger Caleb Clark, who stepped infield after a sharp break by Rieko Ioane.
The Hurricanes hit back with a try to All Blacks hooker Dane Coles, who was found unmarked out wide and ran the ball in like a winger at the right corner, bashing past Barrett, who was forced into the celebrations of his former teammates as he regained his feet.
Tries to T.J. Faiane for the Blues and winger Ben Lam for the Hurricanes left the game evenly poised at halftime.
Papali’i’s try from a Faiane through-kick split the teams in the second half and Black opened the gap with a series of penalties.
A try to Jamie Booth for the Hurricanes came too late to rescue a bonus point.
After the match, Barrett said he saw Coles’ eyes light up as the hooker charged toward him and was left with no doubt how his former Hurricanes teammate felt about his move to the Blues.
Barrett said Coles could not have wished for a better way to make his mark on the game.
“That was the moment he wanted eh?” a laughing Barrett said. “But I think it probably would have been better for him if I had the ball.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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