The Crusaders spent the weekend playing a practice match. Photo / Getty
The Crusaders spent the weekend playing a practice match. Photo / Getty
COMMENT:
Blues loose forward Hoskins Sotutu did his best to steal the show but referee Mike Fraser was having none of it.
A dominant performance from Fraser in the second half ensured he will be the face most people remember when they reflect on a still wonderful occasion at EdenPark.
On a Sunday afternoon which brought back fond memories of yesteryear, the Blues announced themselves as outstanding contenders in the race to finish second behind the Crusaders in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Rising players led by Sotutu were vital to an emphatic win over the Hurricanes, something that will no doubt delight coach Leon MacDonald and assistant Tom Coventry.
Coaches depend on old heads. But it's only when young players pay dividends that they really know their methods are on the mark.
There is a real sense that the MacDonald/Coventry partnership is starting to click through the gears and Coventry's troops had the Hurricanes lineout for breakfast.
Hoskins Sotutu was a standout for the Blues. Photo / Photosport
Because this was Fraser's match, at a packed Eden Park.
Following a blistering penalty performance from fellow whistler Paul Williams in Dunedin, Fraser started at a moderate pace before warming to the task of saving rugby.
With the occasion threatening to turn into a rugby game, he shut it down by bashing everyone over the head with the new rule interpretations and a couple of much loved old ones.
No wonder this country is so good at doing stuff like lockdowns. We're built for this sort of thing.
Give us a rule book and we go weak at the knees. You can't go near a garden hose these days without someone dialling one-one-one.
I don't want to blame Fraser outright, because he's probably already endured a searching performance review by the time you read this.
But if he really was operating to the rules, some of them are stupid.
When Beauden Barrett raced in to support ball carrier Rieko Ioane from a slightly suspicious angle, in waltzed Fraser and his laser beam with another harsh ruling. Why would any sport want to stop the movement of a game at that point? The Blues had the ball for goodness sake.
What really bugged me about Fraser was this: he had no sense of fun.
We haven't spent the last three months hoarding toilet paper and wondering if it's okay to drink bleach only to have our welcome back party ruined by noise control.
And yet with the game out of the Hurricanes' reach, and time up, a Hail Mary flourish was punched in the guts with another sub-clause. Come on Mike. Relax a little.
Anyway, I don't want to heap all the blame on the whistler. He was probably doing his job.
Rugby has emerged from the virus hiatus with an oxymoron of a mission statement in which it aims to increase the flow by dishing out more penalties.
This will be a familiar ploy to Aucklanders, who live in a city which is improving traffic flow by conducting more roadworks.
In both cases, it takes an enormous leap of faith but I'm backing the traffic plan to work before the rugby one.
Meanwhile the Crusaders - who don't actually need the help - have been left in the box seat, the champs given the weekend to study how the refs are reffing rather than being caught unawares.
The Crusaders spent the weekend playing a practice match. Photo / Getty
Scott Robertson's crew is loaded with rugby's finest essential workers, particularly a test quality tight five bolstered by the unexpected return of Sam Whitelock.
In contrast, you'll see Donald Trump press conferences which work better than the Hurricanes lineout.
While the Hurricanes were their own worst enemy, there is hope with these Blues, and probably more than for the sport itself.
Barrett's influence on his new team was there for all to see, if you looked real hard.
What rugby should be doing is creating a game in which Barrett, among the most magical runners rugby has ever seen, gets to do magical runs.
HIs long line kicks from penalties and general demeanour were huge, but that's not what people pay for with the wonderful Beaudie.
Sotutu, meanwhile, was magnificent. So was Ioane with the ball in his new position of centre, but the former wing was inept on defence.
Then again, rugby needs people who are inept on defence to compensate for the rules and the refs.
