Blues v Hurricanes: Five takeaways as ‘masterful’ Beauden Barrett stakes All Blacks claim to keep title defence alive
Our five takeaways from the Blues' one point victory over the Hurricanes.
Following the Blues’ 19-18 victory over the Hurricanes at Eden Park, here are our five takeaways from the Super Rugby Pacific encounter.
Top line
A real arm-wrestle at Eden Park as two struggling New Zealand franchises looked to get their season back on track.
The performances of the two sides today was a clear indication of why they are struggling for results, as it was an NZ derby that lacked the usual flair, accuracy and game-breaking individual excellence, particularly with the ball in hand.
Ultimately, it was the boot of Beauden Barrett that proved to be the deciding factor as the All Blacks legend knocked over five of his six shots at goal, including four penalties and a conversion for their sole try by Marcel Renata.
The Hurricanes will rue their inability to capitalise on their opportunities after spoiling chance after chance in the Blues‘ 22, which included a disallowed try for a clear truck and trailer maul.
Tries from Brayden Iose and Ngan Punivai put the visitors in a strong position to notch up their first victory at Eden Park since 2019, but two missed penalties and a missed conversion from Riley Hohepa proved costly as the Canes leave Auckland with their season hanging by a thread.
Beauden Barrett effect
The All Blacks great has been sorely missed for the Blues after starting the season so brightly in the opening rounds before breaking his hand.
However, that setback did not impact his form as he was back playing at an elite level upon his return with an open-play kicking game that can only be described as elite.
While many consider the torpedo kick to be a dying art because of the risks that come with that style of punt, Barrett is very much keeping it alive and understandably so, because it works wonders for him.
So often in this match, he had almost no angle to work with but used the kicking to cannon his team upfield. He controlled the Blues’ backfield wonderfully and kept his team in the fight before the half-time break with a wonderful kick-off that Caleb Clarke regathered, leading to Renata’s try.
It’s was a clinic from the veteran playmaker as he mixed it up wonderfully with banana kicks, and chips over the top and when, needed just hammered it upfield finding grass more often than not.
After four weeks on the sidelines, he did not miss a beat and showed his class, staking a massive claim for the All Blacks 10 jersey after starring performances by Damian McKenzie in his absence. A masterful showing from the veteran.
👉 Beauden Barrett reveals the ‘only thing’ holding him back from being 100 per cent
Wasteful Hurricanes
After the match, Hurricanes captain Du’Plessis Kirifi rued his side’s inability to win the gain-line battle up front. While he enjoyed fine performance for Clark Laidlaw’s side, the flanker was spot on as the Hurricanes failed to capitalise on the gifts the Blues served up for them.
The full-time penalty count read Blues 14-8 Hurricanes, with the visitors conceding a handful of those in the final knockings of the match. From those penalties, the visitors were able to march up the field and into the Blues’ 22 but were unable to get their set-pieces firing well enough to make the most of it.
Peter Lakai’s boasted the most metres gained by a Hurricanes forward with a modest 24 from his eight carries, a tally that Hoskins Sotutu and Josh Beehre nearly doubled.
Overall it was just a Hurricanes performance that lacked accuracy, losing four of their 19 lineouts but many of the 15 they did win, it was hardly a solid platform to launch from. They conceded 12 turnovers too as the likes of Anton Segner, Dalton Papali’i, and Sotutu pestered their breakdown.
Blues muscle out a win
While Barrett’s expert kicking and game management got the Blues over the line, so much credit must go to the performance of the pack.
They were able to put the Hurricanes under pressure at scrum time, particularly when Tyrel Lomax and Asafo Aumua left the pitch while Patrick Tuipulotu and Beehre were pests at lineout time.
Papali’i was relentless as ever on defence, racking up another monster tally of 25, eight more than the next-best tally from Isaia Walker-Leawere, while Sotutu popped up with key interventions despite having another rather quiet performance.
With the game on a knife’s edge in the last 10 minutes, it was the Blues’ pack that made the least mistakes after being largely on the wrong side of Angus Gardner’s whistle in the 70 minutes prior to eke out the win.
Title defence still alive
It’s been a tough start for Vern Cotter in his second season in charge, with this being just the second win of the 2025 campaign, but it is a crucial one as the Blues launch a late charge for a play-off spot while the Hurricanes have been a dealt a setback.
The Blues will next face a fired-up Moana Pasifika side at Eden Park next week after Ardie Savea’s side defeated the Waratahs rather emphatically in the earlier kick-off. That is followed by a trip to Christchurch and then Brisbane to face the Crusaders and Reds, respectively in what is a crucial month for the defending champions.
As for the Hurricanes, they will remain in a play-off spot for now but have tough challenges ahead of them in April, with the Crusaders up next before they head across the Tasman to face the Western Force and Brumbies.
