KEY POINTS:
There were several convincing arguments for the out-of-season rugby appearance at the ITM Stadium in Whangarei last night to be repeated.
For a start the home team which, since you asked, was the Blues, hammered the Reds in a Super 14 warm-up game 38-9.
The ground was picture-perfect,
the weather a balmy summer treat and the attire from the 5000-plus crowd more suited to the beach than the rugby benches.
But perhaps the most convincing was that there was only one injury mishap in the entire match, and that was to referee Steve Walsh, who trudged off at halftime with a calf strain.
It was just as well his departure was noted by the ground announcer, otherwise he would have made it all the way to the ice bucket without getting a good send-off from the crowd.
It was hardly the highlight, though. Add a rugby spectacle, and the whole show took a shine all of its own.
The Blues rounded of a week-long charm offensive with a rousing display that may even convince some hardened rural rugby folk from the northern hinterlands to venture south to Eden Park to watch this team in real Super 14 action this year.
Thanks to eyecatching displays from loose forwards Daniel Braid and Onosai Tololima Auva'a, who both scored tries, and a handy mix of backline play and forward grunt, the Blues swept past the Reds with a convincing effort.
So convincing in fact that their coach, David Nucifora, gave the team a glowing pass mark, the crowd left talking up rugby in the middle of January and the Reds went home with tails tucked firmly between the legs.
"We are reasonably happy with that performance. I think the set piece worked well which is always a good sign at this time of the season, and in terms of identifying a few areas we need to work on we have achieved a fair bit," Nucifora said.
"I'm not sure I would want to be going into a championship game just yet, but we are almost there," he said.
His reservations might be linked to the fact that, despite his All Blacks-laden forward pack having the definitive edge from the get- go, it took 60 minutes for the Blues to nail the game shut. Tries to Rudy Wulf, Braid and Isaiah Toeava, all in the last 15 minutes of playing time, boosted the Blues from a 17-9 lead to the hefty winning margin.
But Nucifora took heart from watching all manner of squad members display their talents. Fullback George Pisi caught the eye, winger James Somerset created the last two tries with sheer pace on the left flank and flanker Onosai Tololima Auva'a looks like he might give Braid a run for the No.7 jersey all season.
Even the referees will be happy on that front. When Walsh departed, in stepped Kerikeri policeman Peter Nock who produced a steady display of his own.
It was even a good evening for the Northland Rugby Union, who shelled out $15,000 to host the pre-season fixture and walked away with a tidy profit somewhere around the $20,000 mark.
"It was uncharted territory, rugby in the middle of January, but I think this proves what we can achieve here (in Whangarei). People say there is rugby saturation, but I don't believe that. With a bit of planning and careful marketing this shows there is an appetite for games of this stature in the North," NRU chief executive Rob Malone said.
"I think people up here are still hungry for good rugby," he said.
Blues 38 (Onosai Tololima Auva'a, Daniel Braid 2, Isaiah Toeava, Rudy Wulf tries; Isa Nacewa 4 cons, David Holwell pen, con). Reds 9 (Clinton Schifcofske 2, Berrick Barnes pens). Halftime: 10-6 Blues.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHAGAREI)