Blues fall further into the mire
Sat, 12 Apr 2008 11:26
Scragged: Danny Lee is swamped by the Brumbies defence
The Blues fluffed their lines once again in the Super 14 when they lost 11-16 to a determined Brumbies side at Eden Park in Auckland.
The home side failed to penetrate the Brumbies line for most of the match, and were generally second best throughout the contest.
Only a try by Rudi Wulf in the final minutes gave the Aucklanders a sniff of victory, but it wasn't to be as the Brumbies held on for the win.
The Brumbies were out the blocks very quickly indeed, and one could sense that they were of the opinion that the once fearsome Blues were there for the taking after their form has deteriorated rather dramatically and visibly over the past five weeks.
The Brumbies attitude was aggressive and positive, and they attacked the Blues with high energy at every opportunity in that opening spell. It was clear that they didn't just turn up to make up the numbers in Auckland.
The Blues had to defend hard far long stages of this match. And that defence was tested regularly by the bullish Brumbies, who seemed to have moved up a gear since their 28-42 home loss to the Chiefs last weekend.
The boys from Canberra got the crowd on their feet when Mitchell Chapman went on a great burst in the 10th minute, and evaded a few smother tackles to offload to his backs. The Blues managed to scramble back in defence to stop the drive five metres short of the try-line, but only at the cost of a penalty, which Stirling Mortlock converted for a 3-0 lead to the Brumbies.
That move set the pattern for most of the first half.
More pressure came from the Brumbies, who were growing in stature, and maintain some good forward momentum despite being away from home. They camped in the Blues 'red zone' for a few phases, but the Blues managed to defuse the pressure by claiming a tighthead in the resulting scrum.
The Blues were definitely feeling the heat brought by the intensity of the Brumbies effort, and it was starting to show.
Captain Troy Flavell reacted to the pressure with some spiteful and unsporting digs at the opposition in the loose exchanges, and he was also guilty of speaking out of turn to referee Jonathan Kaplan, who did not take kindly to Flavell's actions.
The Blues skipper's behavior brought a penalty against his team, causing Kaplan to reverse his original decision. The Brumbies showed their aggression once again by passing up the three points of a penalty goal, and opting for the line-out on the Blues goal-line.
They won that one, and spread the ball through the phases as they bashed at the Blues defence. The ball eventually came to the right, where Mortlock straightened and passed to young pivot Christian Lealiifano, who slipped in between two defenders to score in the corner.
Mortlock smashed over a stunning conversion and the Brumbies had a significant reward for their efforts - they were leading 10-0 at Eden Park.
Things didn't improve much for the home side before the break, although they did creep onto the scoreboard courtesy of a penalty by flyhalf Nick Evans.
The teams went into half-time with the Brumbies ahead by 10 points to three.
The Blues had some soul-searching to do, and one would have expected a severe onslaught from them in the second period. But it was the Brumbies who carried on where they left off, and once again they forced some huge pressure onto the Blues defence.
That lead to yet another penalty, and the Brumbies happily accepted the three points courtesy of another successful conversion by Mortlock. 13-3 to the Brumbies.
Then the Blues seemed to wake-up. Scrumhalf Danny Le spotted some space behind the Brumbies, and chipped the ball into that hole. He chased hard and got a good bounce, collecting the ball on the run. It went wide for the Blues as they threatened for once, but the tenacious Brumbies defence did itself proud as they stole possession from the resultant ruck ten metres from their own line.
The Blues were guilty of poor ball protection at the ruck, and a great opportunity went abegging.
Flavell was doing himself no favours in his actions towards referee Kaplan, and it was clear that the lock forward was not happy with the official's interpretations. Why the Blues skipper reacted so petulantly remains a mystery, and he should have known better, as his behaviour set a very poor example for the rest of his team.
Perhaps he should have focused on inspiring them instead of arguing.
Blues coach David Nucifora had seen enough, and decided to make two changes, bringing on David Smith and Taniela Moa for Isaia Toeava, who seemed to limp around for most of the night, and Danny Lee respectively.
The change did provide a temporary boost for the Blues, and Smith looked promising and willing on attack in midfield.
Nick Evans spotted a half-gap and made a clear break to advance 40 metres upfield, but again the Brumbies worked hard to get numbers behind the ball, and effect some excellent defence.
The Blues were restricted to a penalty, which Evans popped over to make it 6-13, with 25 minutes to play.
The home side at last found some collective drive and spirit, and now it was their turn to knock on the Brumbies door. They managed to dominate the next 10 minutes, but their main problem was that they could not find a way of penetrating deep enough to get that crucial try that would get them back in the match.
And they were dealt another stiff blow when Mark Gerrard slotted a penalty on 72 minutes which made the score 16-6 to the Brumbies. The Blues now had to score at least twice to win, and they only had eight minutes to do it.
To their credit, the Aucklanders did make a decent fist of it at this late stage, but it was ultimately too little, too late when Rudi Wulf finished off a rare slick backline movement to score in the corner. Good work from the Blues loose forwards in midfield set Isa Nacewa on his way, and the fullback straightened the line before feeding Flavell, who passed it on to Wulf for the score.
Evans seemed to strike a perfect conversion from the touchline that sailed towards the centre of the uprights, but strangely it landed short. 11-16.
This proved to be the final scoring in the match, and the Brumbies celebrated an away win that kept their slim chances of a semifinal spot alive.
The Blues were left looking for answers once again as their campaign threatens to fall away completely.
Man of the match: Much credit should go to the Brumbies pack for a great shift, especially in defence. George Smith was probably the biggest influence.
Moment of the match: Rudi Wulf's try after a typical Blues backline move, which has become a rare sight these days.
Villain of the match: Blues skipper Troy Flavell for his petulance and lack of leadership in the Blues cause when they needed a talisman.
The Scorers:
For the Blues:
Tries: Wulf
Cons:
Pens: Evans 2
For the Brumbies:
Tries: Lealiifano
Cons: Mortlock
Pens: Mortlock 3
Teams:
Blues: 15 Isa Nacewa, 14 Anthony Tuitavake, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Lee, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Troy Flavell (captain), 4 Anthony Boric, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Nick White, 18 Bryn Evans, 19 Justin Collins, 20 Taniela Moa, 21 Ben Atiga, 22 David Smith.
Brumbies: 15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Adam
Ashley-Cooper, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Tyrone Smith, 11 Peter Playford, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Patrick Phibbs, 8 Julian Salvi, 7 George Smith, 6 Mitchell Chapman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Alister Campbell, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Peter Kimlin, 19 Jone Tawake, 20 Joshua Holmes, 21 Matt Toomua, 22 Francis Fainifo.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Assessor: Alan Riley (New Zealand)
By Phil Coetzer
