The Auckland Blues yesterday rode their relentless forward power to the Super Rugby Pacific final for the second time in three years with a 34-20 semi-final victory over the ACT Brumbies at Eden Park.
The three-time Super Rugby champions scored four tries in the first quarter and one more after the break to set up a title decider against the Wellington Hurricanes or the Waikato Chiefs, who are to meet in today’s second semi-final.
The Brumbies gave themselves too much to do after a poor start and exit at the semi-final stage for the third straight year, again leaving the competition an all-New Zealand affair at the business end.
Photo: AFP
The Australian side failed to adapt to the wet conditions early on and the Blues were happy to exploit a series of basic errors, particularly on the restart, with their distinctive brand of direct, physical rugby.
Multiple phases of pick and go from the home pack set up tries for center A.J. Lam, hooker Ricky Riccitelli, lock Sam Darry and winger Caleb Clarke to give the home side a 24-6 lead inside the first 21 minutes.
Brumbies No. 8 Rob Valetini was unstinting in his effort and got his reward with a try from close range four minutes before the break, but Blues flyhalf Harry Plummer kicked a 47m penalty to give his side a 27-13 lead at halftime.
Photo: AFP
The visitors, looking to become the first Australian team in 28 years of Super Rugby to win a playoff in New Zealand, knew they needed to score first in the second half and came close through Billy Pollard.
The hooker got the ball to the line, but only after a double movement, while other promising attacks were stymied when the final pass just failed to go to hand.
The Blues’ pack got back to business just before the hour mark when another series of big ball carries resulted in No. 8 Hoskins Sotutu driving over the line under the posts for his 12th try of the season.
Photo: AFP
The Brumbies were still fighting and replacement flanker Luke Reimer found a way through the steely Blues defense from 1m out in the 69th minute to cut the deficit to 14 points.
However, their problems at the restart returned and Nick Frost was shown a yellow card for taking out Clarke in the air, the replacement lock carrying Australian hopes of a remarkable comeback off the pitch with him.
“It means so much to this group of players, we’ve got a lot of old guys in the side and we’ve been through so much together,” said Blues flanker Dalton Papali’i, who was standing in as captain for the injured Patrick Tuipulotu. “We’ve got one more game to go.”
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