All the action between the Blues and Stormers in Super Rugby from Eden Park.
As it happened: Super Rugby - Blues v Stormers
NZ Herald
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Rieko Ioane of the Blues. Photo / Getty
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The Blues are on the brink of their third win in a row - rare territory for them - and so perhaps not surprisingly their head coach Leon MacDonald has taken a softly, softly approach in terms of his selections.
Which isn't to say that's an approach the Blues will take against a Stormers team which will attempt to bash them into submission from the opening whistle at Eden Park on Saturday, just that MacDonald hasn't changed much this week.
Blues wing Rieko Ioane retains his place for another week as predicted, and Ma'a Nonu stays at No12 despite the return of Sonny Bill Williams, but perhaps the most significant selections as the Blues attempt to build on their win over the Highlanders are in the front row.
After making a big impact from the reserves bench at Eden Park last weekend, that's where All Blacks props Karl Tu'inukuafe and Ofa Tuungafasi will once again find themselves.
Sione Mafileo and Alex Hodgman are tasked with starting the job against what is a huge Stormers pack, and Tu'inukuafe and Tuungafasi with finishing it, along with fellow big hitters Dalton Papalii and midfielder Williams.
The Blues came through in the final quarter against the Highlanders – a rare achievement for a team which hadn't beaten a Kiwi rival since round one of 2016 – and it's this finishing ability that head coach Leon MacDonald wants to keep.
If he and his team can turn a weakness into a strength it will improve them significantly and he said the message throughout what had been an excellent training week was about the need to improve in all areas.
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"There are two things; who starts the best and how do we close out the game and win it at the end," MacDonald said.
"We saw the benefit of having a powerful bench [last week]. It's probably an area where historically we have lost a lot of games in that last 20 minutes but having that quality off the bench was a deciding factor in our win. It's hard to ignore that, especially when we rate Sione and Alex really highly as well."
Not surprisingly, lock Patrick Tuipulotu, so good off the bench after half an hour last week, is starting against the Stormers, a selection made easier for the fact Josh Goodhue is out with a shoulder injury.
