A balmy Sunday afternoon set the scene at Eden Park, only for the Blues and Western Force to dish up an underwhelming spectacle not befitting the summery vibes.
Missing nine All Blacks through rest protocols and injury, the makeshift Blues got the job done while flatteringto deceive throughout.
Widespread rest and rotation usually brings with it patchy, scratchy elements. That certainly proved true for the Blues, who changed the vast majority of their starting side this week.
With the sides combining for 28 turnovers the match will be remembered for the frequent errors, lack of flow and regular penalties more than the momentary periods of excitement.
That the Blues failed to secure a treasured bonus point against one of the competition battlers, after managing four-tries-to-three, underlines a performance in which they failed to impose their authority for any length of time.
Leading 18-5 at halftime the Blues scored 12 second half points despite the picture-perfect conditions.
Leon MacDonald will reinstate his first-choice squad – the likes of Beauden Barrett, Finlay Christie, Caleb Clarke, Rieko Ioane, Nepo Laulala and captain Dalton Papali’i - for the headline match against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday but the Blues coach is sure to demand a collective lift in standards after watching the Force finish stronger and claim two second half tries.
Alongside a set piece that misfired and scrappy ball at the breakdown to address, MacDonald has further injury concerns, too, with midfielder Bryce Heem and loose forward Adrian Choat suffering knocks.
The less said about the opening 25 minutes, the better. Other than Mark Telea’s best efforts, the match lurched from mistakes to penalties with little in the way of highlights.
Perhaps symptomatic of the significantly changed team the Blues stuttered their way through a lack of ball control and patience, breakdown and set piece malfunctions to contribute to the sloppy first quarter.
Telea and Stephen Perofeta belatedly sparked the Blues with moments of individual brilliance. Perofeta, pulling the strings from first five-eighth in Barrett’s absence, produced several classy touches including an offload at the line and chip for Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens’ spectacular opening strike.
The Taranaki trio combined brilliantly to break the funk, with Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens’ leaping, twisting airborne grounding offering up a candidate for finish of the season.
Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens flew high for a sensational try. Photo / Photosport
Telea and Perofeta were at it again for the Blues second, finished moments later by Ofa Tuungafasi, but it was a brief respite from the largely disjointed half as the Force struck on half time.
Former Chiefs and Hurricanes utility Chase Tiatia was the consistent standout from the backfield for the Force. He laid on a try for Force captain Michael Wells and threatened whenever he chimed into the backline.
The Force, to their credit, stayed in the fight and were rewarded with tries to wings Toni Pulu and Zach Kibirige.
While the Blues were never in danger of losing the match, thanks to tries from Telea and Ricky Riccitelli, they will be a long way from satisfied with the inability to put the Force to bed.
