Super Rugby Aupiki: Strong attack lifts Blues to impressive win over Matatū

Krystal Murray scored the opening try in the Blues win over Matatū. Photo / Getty Images

Blues 21
Matatū 10

In a battle of strong attack and strong defence, it was the former that came out on top.

In their first game of the Super Rugby Aupiki season, the Blues got off the mark in fine fashion with a 21-10 win over Southern franchise Matatū on Tuesday night.

While their round one fixture against Hurricanes Poua was called off due to Covid-19, there were no signs of rust or a lack of cohesion in the Blues squad as they got the better of the opposition.

Matatū came out strong looking to take it to the side who were yet to play, and opened the scoring six minutes in with a penalty – but it was about the only attacking opportunity they had in the first half.

Led by the work of their forwards, the Blues made sure to play the game in the right half of the field and being secure in possession meant they were able to apply pressure to the Matatū defence.

When Matatū were able to get the odd moment of possession, they generally kicked the ball out for some breathing room. But between the Blues' security with the ball and the Matatū lineout being a massive issue even when they were able to kick to touch from a penalty, it was one-way traffic for the first half.

The Blues enjoyed almost three quarters of the ball in the first half and spent 87 per cent of the half in Matatū territory, but it wasn't until the half time siren that they were able to crack the stoic Matatū defence. They did so through loosehead prop Krystal Murray, who scooped up a loose pass at pace and ran through a defender to score.

The Blues extend their lead early in the second half through Mele Hufanga, who also showed her speed and strength to bump of defenders and score from an impressive run – adding salt to the wound for Matatū who would have felt the Blues got a favourable call on a fumble from the restart moments earlier.

The Southerners hit back through Martha Mataele soon after, and the tide seemed to be shifting. But while Matatū were doing terrific work defensively, the same could not be said for their attack. Handling errors and constant issues with the lineout meant a lot of opportunities to put the Blues under pressure were wasted, and despite some great work at the scrum and defensively, if you can't score point, you're not going to win.

After some back-and-forth play in midfield with the teams both looking to stake their claim to the points, the Blues were able to extend their lead further when blindside flanker Shannon Leota scored, with Krysten Cottrell's ensuing penalty pushing the margin to nine points – more than enough to guide the side to its first win.

Blues 21 (Krystal Murray, Mele Hufanga, Shannon Leota tries; Patricia Maliepo 2 cons, Krysten Cottrell con)
Matatū 10 (Martha Mataele try; Liv McGoverne con, pen)
HT: 7-3