Rugby: Blues snatch second win

Akira Ioane looks to skip out of a tackle against the Force. Photo / Getty

Blues 41
Force 24

It's symptomatic of the Blues' season that, what little good news they enjoyed tonight in beating the hapless Force, came with a smattering of bad.

Captain Jerome Kaino was forced off with a broken finger that could sideline him for up to eight weeks, but more of a worry was the knee injury suffered by Charles Piutau.

His looked a touch nasty - his leg being forced the wrong way in a tackle and his knee suffering an obvious hyper-extension. Piutau will be more than a little nervous that his World Cup goose, partially cooked by his decision to play for Ulster next year, is now burned to a crisp.

At least, however small a mercy it may seem, his struggling Blues team-mates were able to get the victory they so desperately needed.

It's the craziest thing but who would bet against the Blues being undefeated at Eden Park this campaign?

The score blew out a bit to give the impression they produced something near-perfect and emphatic. It wasn't quite like that.

Despite the scoreline, it was a mixed-enough game to earn comparison with a box of chocolates but a box, that is, populated too heavily with Turkish delight and coffee creams - the ones no one other than the utterly peculiar particularly like.

The defensive work from the Blues in the final quarter was alarming. The Force were able to score four tries in a jiffy and it didn't seem beyond the realm of possibility the Force could snatch the most unlikely victory.

At least, though, the bits that were good, really were good. And even better for the Blues, they may have unearthed something spectacularly good in Akira Ioane.

Longer-term followers of the Blues will be reticent to believe too hard. They have heard all this before - seen many a young man sparkle one night at Eden Park only to turn to dust for ever after.

But Ioane may be different - his solo try midway through the second half standing testament to that. It had a bit of everything - pace, awareness, power, vision, balance and audacity.

It was, frankly, stunning and nor was it his sole contribution by any means. His performance was balanced with plenty of other memorable and high-impact carries, some big tackles, a bit of lineout ball and plenty of tracking back to show there's work ethic and desire.

If only the Blues could find a version of Ioane to slip into jerseys No 9 and 10 and they would be well on their way to building a team that could finally get somewhere.

There were times when the Blues looked like a team without a care in the world. Their offloading was skilful and ambitious without being overdone.

When they found space, they took it forcefully and clinically with strong running. That's the way they are - a team of raw athletes who can be deadly if they can get on the front foot and build confidence.

That's why they need to find the highest calibre players for the key decision-making and play-making roles. If the strings are pulled in the right direction and the energy and explosive power channelled effectively, the Blues would be a different proposition.

If they can score 40 points on the basis a few passes stuck, imagine how good they could be if they can bed down some tactical direction and control.

Blues 41 (M. Nanai (2), S. Luatua, A Ioane, I. West tries; D. Bowden 2 cons, pens; I. West 2 cons)
Force 24 (P. Cowan, M. Hodgson, R. Louwrens, B. McCalman tries; S. Ebersohn 2 cons)