Blues v Western Force: Five takeaways as defending champions respond to Vern Cotter’s ‘lashing’ while Kurtley Beale shines on return
Wallabies veteran Kurtley Beale and an inset of Blues head coach Vern Cotter.
Following the Blues’ 56-22 victory over the Western Force, here are our five takeaways from the Super Rugby Pacific clash at Eden Park.
Top line
The Blues take a full house of points and crucially so in terms of their playoff hopes running in six tries to the Western Force’s three.
It was a statement victory for the New Zealand club, who responded to Vern Cotter’s public lashing as Marcel Renata opened the hosts’ account with a smartly taken try from close range after a powerful scrummaging shift. Cole Forbes followed soon after as he latched onto a pinpoint pass from Beauden Barrett.
The Force battled manfully throughout and after being denied by the TMO, Carlo Tizzano did add to his try-scoring tally this season in the 36th minute, dotting down for the 12th time in his 10th appearance. That would be the final contribution to the scoreline before the break as the Blues led 12-7.
Cotter’s men started the second half brightly as AJ Lam benefited from a superb floated pass by Barrett to score with his first touch of the ball, but the Force’s reply was swift as Mac Grealy produced a stunning offload to Kurtley Beale, who scored in his first match in over a year.
Quick scores from Laghlan McWhannell and a second for Forbes put the Blues in a commanding lead. Nic Dolly scored to take the Blues’ bonus point away, but Cotter’s men rallied late with Josh Beehre forcing his way over the line with five minutes left to play, reinstating the bonus point.
A late wobble from the Blues gave the Western Force a chance to grab a try that would deny the hosts a bonus point, but the hosts held firm to secure the five points.
Powerful scrum
The Blues’ chances of making the play-offs have been dealt a massive boost, and much of that is due to the purchase they got from their scrum.
On occasion, the Force were able to repel the Blues’ power and just about held on, but more often than not, they were on skates and quickly put into reverse.
Renata and McWannell’s tries came off the back of a solid platform set at scrum time, the latter coming after Lam had one disallowed because of a knock-on.
While All Blacks’ scrum guru Jason Ryan didn’t look at too many of the Blues’ props last year, performances like today may change his mind.
Beauden Barrett masterclass
If the Blues are to continue their unlikely bid to defend their title, they will need a bit more than a powerful pack, and they have it in their number ten Barrett.
It’s one thing to have that dominance up front and another thing to make the most of it, and the veteran playmaker did not waste that front-foot ball.
He kept the Western Force defence guessing and expertly punished them with pinpoint passes and cross-kicks.
Barrett also bossed the kicking game up against Ben Donaldson, with Beale pressing the veteran fly-half, but still, he came out on top.
The 33-year-old was absolutely pivotal in the Aucklander’s victory and an important one for their title hopes this season.
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Kurtley Beale’s return
Kurtley Beale has made no secret of his desire to have a second crack at the British and Irish Lions, and his chances of doing so were significantly boosted as he played his first game in over a year.
While it has been a long time between innings for the veteran playmaker, it did not look like it as he produced a calm and effective performance from full-back.
The 36-year-old covered the backfield rather well despite being tested by Barrett and sparked the Force’s attack into life with marvellous runs from the back. He finished the game with a match-high of 122 running metres and beat three defenders from his 15 carries. He also provided a handy second receiver option to Donaldson as he completed 15 passes and an offload and was on hand to finish off a try from a wonderful offload from Grealy.
Earlier this week, Joe Schmidt rued the lack of experience in the Wallabies set-up and with 95 international caps, Beale could be an ideal buffer for the side, with his versatility making him a great option on the bench too.
Only time will tell if Beale can replicate today’s showing regularly, but if he is, there is no reason why he can’t be involved with the Wallabies squad for the all-important series against the Lions.
Elsewhere, Darcy Swain and Jeremy Williams put in performances that will do their chances of featuring for the Wallabies this year no harm. Not only did they front up against the Blues’ powerful pack well despite being on the back foot, but they caused their lineout all kinds of issues.
Their ability to steal opposition throws this season has been a sight to behold, and it could well lead to a recall for Swain, while Williams is bound to retain his position in the squad.
Blues gather pace at the right time
Five points today was a no-starter for the Blues as Super Rugby Pacific enters the business end of the tournament. The Aucklanders have never lost to the Force at Eden Park, and while the hosts did pose a real threat of ending their drought at the famous stadium, the men in blue held firm.
There is no doubt that the Blues have not performed to the standard set last year, but they are now in a strong position to sneak into the play-offs, having entered the top six for the first time this season.
They may well drop out of that spot by the end of the weekend, but have a favourable run of fixtures to end the season with the Fijian Drua, Moana Pasifika and Waratahs left.
If they do progress to the knockout stages, they will likely be on the road in the playoffs, but once there, Cotter and his charges will fancy their chances of going all the way again.
As for the Force, today’s result is a slight setback but not a season-ending one, as they are level on points with the Blues but trail on points difference.
They welcome the Brumbies to HBF Park next week in what could well be a season-deciding fixture before they too face the Fijian Drua and Waratahs. It’s nip and tuck for both teams.
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