For the coach of a side that squandered a rare, treasured home victory over the Crusaders, Leon MacDonald was remarkably upbeat.
Perhaps it’s because the entertaining 34-28 defeat at Eden Park on Saturday night occurred early in the season, and the Blues have ample time to improve.
Yet for allthe positives MacDonald extolled, there must be concern the 2-2 Blues have now dropped their last two matches against the defending champions, with this latest result coming after last year’s crushing defeat in the final at the same venue.
Couple those defeats with this year’s round-two loss to the Brumbies and while the Blues remain genuine title challengers with their lethal attacking threats, their big game aptitude remains a major nagging doubt.
To be fair to MacDonald, the Blues weren’t helped by losing both starting props to injury in the first half against the Crusaders, or the technical rule that reduced the locals to 13 men following a yellow card and the forced, depowered scrums.
Conceding two tries in that time hurt but the Blues were good enough to recover, only to falter when it mattered most by twice losing the ball over the line.
With a 70 per cent possession advantage in the second half, their inability to convert that pressure into points leaves lingering frustrations.
”It’s definitely not back to the drawing board,” MacDonald said after the Blues scored four tries – three in the first half.
“Some of our attacking play we’re shifting to space a lot better than we have done. We found more space with the way we kicked and passed. Our breakdown was a lot better too. If we can continue to keep growing in these areas I think we’re going to cause a lot of teams trouble.
”We had our opportunities. We lost momentum when we were down to 13 men but to regroup and come back into it, we showed a lot with a spirited second half. There was a lot of guts and character to all but take it – losing the ball over the line a couple of times.
“We’re bitterly disappointed not to get the win but I feel we are getting better. I can see it in the way we’re training and the way the leaders are stepping up throughout the week. There’s still plenty of good stuff we can be proud of there.
”We won plenty of games last year we could’ve, should’ve lost. Today was one of those days we know we didn’t get the rub of the green in certain areas and we don’t make excuses about that because we create our own luck and if we were a bit better we could’ve won that game.”
Blues coach Leon MacDonald (left) was remarkably upbeat despite the Blues' second defeat in four matches. Photo / Photosport
The Blues are expected to be without props Alex Hodgman (shoulder dislocation) and James Lay (ankle) for some time. They will hope Ofa Tu’ungafasi swiftly recovers from concussion but Nepo Laulala is among the hefty group of All Blacks that need to soon satisfy their rest protocols – likely starting next week when the Blues welcome the Force on Sunday.
Despite those injury setbacks and the bitter taste of defeat, Blues captain Dalton Papalii was similarly far from despondent.
”Losing is never easy. We’ve built something with the Crusaders and every game with them is tough to lose,” Papalii said.
“I can’t fault our effort. We got over twice and dropped the ball. It’s little moments like that we need to execute, they can change the game. We’re there, but we just need to tweak a few things.
“It’s not panic stations. We’re pretty happy with the way we’re playing. It’s just those little moments.”
With their title defence teetering, the significance of victory was not lost on Crusaders coach Scott Robertson.
Last week’s shock loss to the Drua in Fiji plunged the Crusaders into an early-season hole – yet this desperate, gritty win, while far from perfect, goes a long way to restoring faith in their credentials particularly given it was achieved without All Blacks David Havili, Will Jordan, Fletcher Newell and Jack Goodhue.
“It was really important for a number of reasons,” Robertson said. “We wanted to make sure we owned the position we’re in.
“We set the standard. This is what we’ve got to be like. We had a repeat of the semifinal round one and repeat of the final round four. It’s a helluva start. That’s our standard from now on.”
Robertson praised Leicester Fainga’anuku’s blend of power and pace that claimed three tries from the left edge; Sam Whitelock’s telling late breakdown turnover on the Crusaders line and Dallas McLeod’s midfield punch.
For all those contributors, All Blacks blindside Ethan Blackadder was the clear individual standout.
”The scramble and the care shown in the in-goal... you’ve got to put it down,” Robertson said of his side’s defensive efforts.
“I love those moments. They were big plays, big moments.”
Leicester Fainga'anuku was a standout for the Crusaders. Photo / Photosport
Robertson’s injury toll could grow this week after Sevu Reece hobbled off with an ankle issue but after suggesting they produced their best passage with a 20-minute spell in the first half, captain Scott Barrett believes the Crusaders will further improve from here.
”Last week was disappointing. Reflecting on that game and the last couple we weren’t where we’d like to be but we’ve acknowledged that. Round four, Blues at home, it was a timely game for us to own it,” Barrett said.
“When they get into free air and space they’re lethal with the calibre of athletes in their backline. They pushed us right to the end in the second half we had to really dig deep with our defence.
“There’s pride in how we hung on but a little bit disappointed at times where we got a breather and our set piece didn’t function the way we’d like and we let them back in. As always we’re looking to get better and that’s one area we need to be sharper especially next week looking at the Brumbies.”
