Pat Lam says he is happy with the effort from his team in the defeat to the Highlanders which left the Blues on the bottom of the Super Rugby table.
The Highlanders won 30-27 in Dunedin on Friday night but the Blues were perhaps unlucky to come out on the
wrong side of the ledger. It was their seventh loss of the season, their sole victory coming in the upset over the Bulls in Pretoria in round three.
"It was another close one which we could have taken,'' coach Lam said yesterday. "It's tough, there were some tough calls and also some decisions that we made that probably weren't quite right on the field as well. But all in all I can't fault the effort. We're close but not close enough as they say.''
A major call which went against his side was the try awarded to replacement Kurt Baker, despite the Highlanders fullback illegally pushing Rene Ranger in the back before diving on the ball.
To add insult to injury, referee Bryce Laurence asked his sideline assistant about a possible push in the lead-up to the try.
