Super Rugby Pacific highlights: Beauden Barrett brace helps Blues into the semi-finals

Colin Newboult

04 Jun 2022 11:02 AM

Beauden Barrett (L) of the Auckland Blues is tackled by Pete Samu (C) of the ACT Brumbies during the Super Rugby Pacific Round 14 match between the ACT Brumbies and the Auckland Blues at GIO Stadium in Canberra, Saturday, May 21, 2022. (AAP Image/David Gray) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY ** STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE, NO BOOKS **

League form transferred into the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs as the Blues defeated fellow New Zealand side the Highlanders 35-6 at Eden Park.

After an opening round loss to the Hurricanes, Leon MacDonald’s men have gone on a superb winning run and stretched it to 14 games on Saturday.

They were slow out of the blocks, however, and the visitors opened up a 6-0 advantage thanks to successive Marty Banks penalties, but Andrew Makalio’s red card changed the course of the game.

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The hooker was correctly sent off for an awful shoulder charge on Tom Robinson and while the Highlanders were down to 14 men the hosts capitalised.

Firstly, the Ioane brothers combined as Akira latched onto Rieko’s pass to score before Beauden Barrett showed his searing pace to give them a 14-6 lead at the break.

Although the ‘Landers were back up to 15 in the second period, the Blues had the momentum and confirmed their semi-final place via Barrett and AJ Lam.

All that was left to complete a pretty much perfect evening for the Aucklanders was for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to touch down for his first Super Rugby try.