Blues v Hurricanes: Why NZ rugby needs the Aucklanders to be great – Phil Gifford

Timoci Tavatavanawai impressed against the Blues. Photo / SmartFrame

Six talking points heading into round three of Super Rugby Pacific.

The game needs better Blues

The biggest game of this week’s round of Super Rugby Pacific, the Blues facing the Hurricanes in Wellington, matters to more than just Auckland fans.

Rugby is facing a host of problems, from securing a worthwhile television deal to keeping the grassroots of the sport alive. In every respect, it needs to have a powerful presence in our biggest city. Having last year’s champions, the Blues, sitting dead last after two rounds is another headache.

Somehow the Warriors, no matter how badly they play, keep filling Mt Smart. And who would have dreamed at the start of the year that a football team, Auckland FC, would be just as popular, selling out not only home games, but also their $120 replica jerseys?

In blunt terms, there haven’t been enough changes made to the basic game plan that served the Blues so well last year. It’s now been countered twice, by the Chiefs and the Highlanders, so there’s an urgent need for a more expansive style.

With three All Blacks – Mark Tele’a, Rieko Ioane and Caleb Clarke – in the three-quarters, it’s not as if there’s a shortage of firepower out wide. Making damned sure the fliers see the ball would serve two purposes. One should be securing some victories. The second would be providing the sort of excitement that draws in the fans.

Key match-ups

The clash in Wellington, intriguing in itself, also offers a couple of fascinating match-ups. The Canes co-captain, openside flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi, will face the Blues’ All Blacks openside, Dalton Papali’i. Kirifi is never less than dynamic on the field, living proof that you don’t need to be an international to play like one. The battle of the breakdowns between him and Papali’i could be crucial.

Harry Godfrey, a star at age-group level for New Zealand, has become the Canes’ starting first five-eighths after Brett Cameron suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the NPC last year that’s ruled him out of Super Rugby. Godfrey has talent to burn and playing against the Blues’ classy Harry Plummer is a chance to show how he also has the maturity to run a backline.

Freeing the fliers

Friday night’s match in Albany, when Moana Pasifika host the Highlanders, has the potential to be an electric occasion.

The Highlanders have shown they want to keep the ball alive, giving speedsters like Finn Hurley and Sam Gilbert every chance to use their pace and skill. Moana are not short of brilliant runners either, most notably wing Kyren Taumoefolau, who at 21 has already played World Cup rugby for Tonga.

With the MetService predicting a rain-free evening, this could be a great start to the weekend.

Time to dare

As early as it is in the season, nobody is putting their hand up higher for the All Blacks selectors than the Landers co-captain, second five-eighths Timoci Tavatavanawai.

Last year, Scott Robertson took a cautious approach to selection, basically retaining the squad from the 2023 World Cup. This year is surely the time to spread the net – and if Tavatavanawai can maintain the work ethic and effectiveness he’s shown so far, he surely would shape as a potential All Black.

The Aussies are coming

There are a variety of reasons the Australian teams look more threatening this year. The demise of the Melbourne Rebels has meant the talent pool across the Tasman isn’t spread so thinly. Pride being restored in the Wallabies jersey by coach Joe Schmidt won’t have hurt either.

The Brumbies, who face the table-topping Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon, were good enough to make the semifinals last year, beaten 34-20 by the Blues at Eden Park. Coach Stephen Larkham has 12 Wallabies in this year’s squad and his team to face the Chiefs looks strong, even with his star loose forward Rob Valetini out with a hamstring tear.

The TAB has the Brumbies at almost five-to-one outsiders. Given how well the Chiefs have opened their season, it’d be a miracle if the Brumbies won, but I’d expect their resistance to be sterner than those odds suggest.

Munster’s victory

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan heading to Munster is good news for the Irish club, who have signed a class act. McMillan’s tenure at the Chiefs has been outstanding.

He took over in unusual circumstances, as an interim coach at the Chiefs in 2021 while Warren Gatland coached the British and Irish Lions in South Africa. At the end of that year, McMillan was confirmed as head coach of the Chiefs, and he’s now taken them to two finals and one semifinal.

He’ll put out a powerful line-up against the Brumbies, with Cortez Ratima starting at halfback and All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho returning from injury to take a place on the bench.

McMillan borders on self-effacing in interviews, but his results tell all we need to know about his abilities. Saturday will be another step towards what would be the ultimate farewell gift for him, a Super Rugby title.

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