Red-hot Blues prove far too strong for Moana Pasifika
Nick Mulvenney |
The Auckland Blues have smashed Moana Pasifika 43-7 to join the Wellington Hurricanes and ACT Brumbies at the top of the Super Rugby Pacific standings.
Both the Hurricanes and Brumbies have 15 points, while the Blues have 14 after five rounds of the competition.
The Hurricanes held off a Western Force fightback to make it three wins out of four this season with a 31-23 win in Napier on Friday night, but the Brumbies became the latest former champions to be humbled in Fiji after a 42-27 loss to the Drua on Saturday.
At Eden Park on Sunday, the Blues had a try from Sam Nock on the board when the scrumhalf’s opposite number Augustine Pulu was shown a yellow card, later upgraded to red, for a high tackle on him in the 16th minute.
Although short-handed, Auckland-based Moana battled hard to cross through hooker Mills Sanerivi and had a couple of scores chalked off for infractions, but the Blues scored tries through centre AJ Lam and prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi to lead 15-7 at the break.
Converted tries from prop Marcel Renata and lock Sam Darry took the lead out to 29-7 after 50 minutes, before speedy winger Cody Vai and replacement prop Mason Tupaea added two more to hand Moana a fourth straight heavy defeat.
“I think the scoreboard doesn’t reflect how physical that game was,” said Blues skipper Dalton Papali’i.
“Moana, they’re strong, powerful athletes and you know it’s always going to be a grudge match. The boys are going to be pretty sore.”
The fourth-placed Waikato Chiefs had a bye and were joined on 13 points by the Queensland Reds, who scored two tries in the last 10 minutes to beat the NSW Waratahs 26-17 at Brisbane’s Lang Park on Saturday.
The Canterbury Crusaders earlier overturned a 15-12 halftime deficit to down the Otago Highlanders 29-18 in New Zealand’s South Island derby and record their second win of the season.
Reuters