Blues player ratings: ‘Masterful’ Beauden Barrett makes ‘compelling’ All Blacks case as powerhouse pack blows Force away.
Following the Blues’ 40-19 victory over the Western Force, here’s how we rated the defending Super Rugby Pacific champions in the Eden Park win.
Blues player ratings
15 Stephen Perofeta: He is struggling with a calf injury, and it showed in the first half. He was replaced at the break after a rather underwhelming shift. 4
14 Cole Forbes: The Force defensive line parted like the Red Sea, giving the winger a clear run over the line for his first try. Defended manfully against the superb Mac Grealy. Grabbed another and came close to completing his hat-trick. 8
13 Rieko Ioane: After a rather anonymous first half, he made a bright start to the second with a big carry to spark an attack that led to AJ Lam’s try. He made good metres in attack and made decent reads in what was a much-improved performance compared to his recent outings for the Blues. 7
12 Xavi Taele: A massive shift in the starting lineup from the young midfielder. Regularly got over the advantage, setting the perfect platform to strike from and was strong on the other side of the ball too. A real prospect to keep an eye on. 8
11 Corey Evans: Shifted into the starting XV from the bench pre-kick-off, and it was a sharp call from Vern Cotter as the winger made a crucial and brilliant try-saving tackle on Harry Potter, who looked destined to score. Moved to full-back in the second half and hardly put a foot wrong. 7
10 Beauden Barrett: Back at 10 and back to steering the ship for the Blues with another masterful performance. His kicking game is of the elite standard, and it not only created tries for the Blues but also kept them in the right areas of the pitch. Less game-breaking carries than we have become accustomed to, but he is ageing like fine wine with his tactical prowess and playmaking ability, assisting two tries. He is making a compelling case to be the starting All Blacks fly-half. 9
9 Taufa Funaki: Given the nod at halfback in the absence of Finlay Christie and made the most of his opportunity in the starting XV. Made good decisions for the most part and gave Barrett good service. 7
Powerhouse pack
8 Hoskins Sotutu: Flexed his skillset again with some great long passes while he got stuck in on defence. Not a blockbuster performance by any stretch, but a tidy one. 6
7 Dalton Papali’i: Darted around the pitch like a man possessed, sending a clear message to Scott Robertson that he is back! Another huge defensive shift, and he was a real pest at the breakdown. 8
6 Anton Segner: Played a big role in the opening try with a bit of dark arts holding a Force defender, denying him the chance to stop Renata from scoring. Busy at the breakdown but less so on defence with Papali’i dominating the tackle count. 6
5 Laghlan McWhannell: Capped off a solid performance with a try before he was called to the touchline. 6
4 Patrick Tuipulotu (c): Along with McWhannell, he struggled to really get the lineout firing with the Force’s excellent defence at the set-piece. But around the park, he continued his superb form. He was resolute on defence and thundered into the breakdown. 7
3 Marcel Renata: Dominated Ryan Coxon at scrum and was busy defensively. Grabbed a try for good measure. 7
2 Ricky Riccitelli: The lineout struggles will be a concern going forward, but that’s all his doing. Otherwise, a decent hour of action. 6
1 Joshua Fusitu’a: Had Tom Robertson on skates in the scrums as the Blues clearly got the upper hand. He paired that with a huge work-rate around the park, particularly in defence. Continues to be a consistent performer for his club. 8
Replacements: The 6-2 split paid dividends with the pack continuing the dominate at scrum time and on the gain-line. AJ Lam was fantastic while Adrian Choat, Josh Beehre and Angus Ta’avao were the other standouts. 7
