The only thing that went right for the Blues on a messy Saturday night in Sydney were the final digits on the scoreboard at Allianz Stadium reflecting their 12-10 win over hosts Waratahs.
The Blues get credit for grinding out a result when little went their way in what can only be described as a shoddy performance.
They made too many errors with ball in hand, kicked poorly, had their loose moments on defence (they missed 29 tackles) and allowed their hosts to soak up a mountain of pressure and stay in the game.
Blues coach Vern Cotter had demanded a response off their first defeat of the year to the Canes last week, but it’s impossible to say his men delivered one as they scratched, clawed and fumbled their way to the most unconvincing of victories.
They did tighten their game noticeably in the second half, and found some success in the territory and possession battle, but just could not convert a succession of opportunities into points from go to whoa. When push came to shove, they either made bonehead plays or bad decision to let their hosts off the hook.
Still, they walked off the ground with a 10th straight victory over the Sydney-based outfit and with it improve to 3-1, and 13 competition points, for the season, while the Waratahs have now dropped three of their first four and remain well adrift on 6 points.
The Blues took a 7-3 lead into the sheds, courtesy of prop Tu’ungafasi’s 36th-minute try off the short ruck, but were a long way from meeting their coach’s pre-game demands.
The Blues return home to host the winless Crusaders at Eden Park next Saturday night knowing, surely, they will have to be better than this, even against a side as off its game as the Red and Blacks.
Source: Stuff.co
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