Blues just avoid Red faces

Nick Williams attempts to offload last night. Bradley Kanaris / Getty Images

Reds 20 Blues 21

It was nailbiting, it was ugly and it was barely deserved - but the Blues managed to do what they've never done before last night and win in Brisbane.
They ultimately owe their victory to some gutsy goal-kicking from back-up choice Isa Nacewa who looked to be trembling before he sweetly struck two late penalties to nudge the Blues over the line.

It has taken the Blues 10 years to get a result in the sticky climes of Queensland and the irony is that this was possibly one of their least convincing performances.

No one is going to be convinced on last night's performance that they have the vision and cohesion to take out the title.

But what they do have is spirit and huge defence. And now that they have finally got their season up and running, they could start building some momentum.

No one is convinced, but the crucial word to be added here is yet. The Blues are a momentum team and tend to build their form in conjunction with their confidence.

Coach David Nucifora will be hoping that a number of his big names also manage to use last night's game as a launching pad.

It took almost 20 minutes to realise Troy Flavell was on the pitch. The big, rangy forward's two-year sabbatical in Japan has probably preserved his career by two years, but left him a bit out of touch with football at this level.

He was struggling with the pace and intensity and couldn't make the impact he would have liked. If Flavell is looking for a partner to help him get through the necessary fitness work, he might want to give Joe Rokocoko a nudge. The All Black wing has barely been sighted this season and it took 47 minutes before he got his first touch last night.

He went through a similar slump this time last year which was eventually reversed when he went through a two-week boot camp with the New Zealand sevens team.

If he wants to avoid being sent back to the abbreviated form he might want to get off his flank a little earlier in the piece.

That Rokocoko needs to go looking for work probably explains where the Blues are going wrong. The first 10 minutes aside, they never found the width for which they have become famous.

Too often the forwards delivered painfully slow ball. Some more dynamism in the cleanout would not have gone amiss and nor would have some forceful refereeing.

South Africa's JC Fortuin is new to this Super 14 lark. If he carries on in last night's vain it's a fair bet people will start saying saying the JC stands for Jesus Christ - for my goodness, when he's in charge, the Lord's name is taken in vein every time the whistle is blown.

Still, old JC can't be blamed for the Blues continually going to the air or looking to bring Rua Tipoki back in on the cut. It seems a tragic waste of talent to hoof the ball skywards and hope it bounces favourably.

It did in the opening minutes of the game when Reds fullback Chris Latham spilled the ball and Tipoki was able to gather and take off under the sticks.

Latham, though, has probably never made two major mistakes in his career never mind in one game. He sucked up everything else Lavea threw at him and Nucifora must have been screaming for the ball to be kept in hand.

When the Blues did use their running talents, Doug Howlett scored in the corner.

They will presumably realise they will have to be a whole lot smarter when they face the Crusaders.

Reds 20 (B. Barnes try; E. Flatley 4 pens; C. Latham DG).

Blues 21 (R. Tipoki, D. Howlett tries; T. Lavea pen, con; I. Nacewa 2 pens).

- HERALD ON SUNDAY