Blues player ratings: All Blacks snub produces ‘statement shift’ as Beauden Barrett’s masterclass seals semi-final spot
Blues playmaker Beauden Barrett and an inset of Hoskins Sotutu.
Following the Blues’ clutch 19-20 victory over the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific Qualifying Final, here’s how we rated the defending champions.
Blues player ratings v Chiefs
15 Corey Evans: Tidy at the back in what was a solid performance without being brilliant. 6
14 Mark Tele’a: Didn’t see much ball at all in attack, but did his job defensively and in the air. Tele’a didn’t miss a tackle all game and was one of several Blues players who simply got the job done. 6
13 Rieko Ioane: He carried strongly but really didn’t threaten the Chiefs’ defensive line much. It was another underwhelming shift from Ioane, who really could have done better with his tackle attempt on Daniel Rona, which resulted in a try. Frankly, his place in the All Blacks midfield remains under threat. 5
12 AJ Lam: The Chiefs’ midfield was excellent today, which meant that Lam’s impact was rather limited. He did defend rather well, though. 6
11 Caleb Clarke: Not Clarke’s finest game as he botched a try by failing to keep the ball in the correct hand when diving for the line and Samipeni Finau punished him for it. He also shot out of the line poorly which resulted in Rona’s score. Still, he did have some good moments under the high ball and made some strong carries down the wing but he will want to improve next week. 5
10 Beauden Barrett: He gambled with his dive on the ball to score in the first half and unfortunately, it did not pay dividends after a piece of attacking brilliance. Stephen Donald predicted that if Barrett was on song then the Blues would emerge victorious and he was spot on as the veteran fly-half won his duel with Damian McKenzie and led the Blues to victory. A Barrett masterclass of skill and tactical brilliance. If he wasn’t on the pitch today, it’s hard to see how the Blues would have won. 9
9 Finlay Christie: While his service and kicking was on point, he offered little spark in attack. However, Christie did throw his weight around on defence racking up an impressive 13 tackles. 6
The forwards
8 Hoskins Sotutu: Looked to have scored the winner before his try was chalked off for crawling and thankfully for him, his side still found the score to clinch the victory. The All Blacks snub did, however, enjoy a strong performance where he made all 12 of his tackle attempts and racked more metres than any other player in the match (54). He also made more carries than any other player (15) and completed 12 passes in a statement shift that may well tempt the national selectors. 8
7 Dalton Papali’i: Just what you’d expect from the All Blacks flanker who was strong defensively, a pest at the breakdown and an effective carrier. 6
6 Adrian Choat: Busy on defence as he racked up 16 tackles and won a turnover. It was a real battle up front and Choat was central to the Blues’ efforts. 6
5 Laghlan McWhannell: Worked well in tandem with his locking partner to pester the Chiefs’ lineout. He made a joint team high 18 tackles along with Fusitu’a. 7
4 Patrick Tuipulotu: Another abrasive outing for the ever-consistent All Blacks lock. A real captain’s knock. 7
3 Marcel Renata: Part of a dominant starting front-row at scrum time while also being busy around the park. 7
2 Ricky Riccitelli: Stupidly yellow-carded for a blatant trip on McKenzie which put his side under unnecessary pressure. Outside of that gaffe, it was a solid shift. 5
1 Joshua Fusitu’a: Continued his fine form this season with a strong scrummaging performance which was paired with a busy defensive game. May well be in the mix for an All Blacks call-up. 7
Replacements: The Blues got better purchase from their bench than the Chiefs which proved pivotal in the final outcome of the game. Sam Nock, Anton Segner, and Kurt Ekland were notable standouts for the Aucklanders. 8
