A late try by Keven Mealamu saw the Auckland Blues out-gun the Canterbury Crusaders 24-22 in the Super 15 clash of the New Zealand rugby heavyweights at Eden Park on Saturday.
In a match brimming with 24 All Blacks, 12 on each side, the Crusaders led 19-6 at halftime before the Blues cut their error count and surged back in the second half with Mealamu’s winning try coming with 10 minutes on the clock.
The Blues dominated possession and cashed in on an advantage around the fringes of broken play where Mealamu was a constant thorn in the Crusaders side.
Initially the Blues lacked the smarts of the seven-times champions Crusaders who shut them down with a rock-solid defence and with two openside flankers, Matt Todd and George Whitelock, quick to snare turnover ball.
The Crusaders also enjoyed an edge in the battle of the all All Blacks middle rows where incumbents Sam Whitelock and Brad Thorn had the edge on Ali Williams and Anthony Boric in the lineouts.
But when the Blues cut down on errors in the second half as it became a matter whether they had enough time to overhaul the 13-point deficit
“It’s only week one but what a way to start the season,” an elated Mealamu said.
“In the second half we had some big plays that gave us a lot of confidence.”
Crusaders captain Kieran Read, deputising for the injured Richie McCaw, was left to rue his side not being able to maintain pressure for the full 80 minutes.
“It was very disappointing, the way we came out and we couldn’t continue it.”
The game was less than a minute old when Dan Carter kicked a penalty from an acute angle, but it was to be a short-lived lead for the Crusaders as Stephen Brett replied with two penalties in quick succession for the Blues.
But the Crusaders struck back to control the scoring in the rest of the half.
Carter, who had a mixed night with the boot missing two penalties and two conversions in the first half, hurt the Blues with his tactical kicking as he reeled off long-ranging touchfinders.
He also set up the opening try in the 20th minute when he sucked the Blues into thinking he was going up the middle before unloading a late pass to Andy Ellis who fed Israel Dagg who chipped ahead for Sean Maitland to score.
On the stroke of halftime Robbie Fruean opened up the Blues backline in a move that swept the field and ended with Ellis scoring.
In the second half, the Crusaders scoring was restricted to a lone Carter penalty while the Blues opened up with a third penalty from Brett.
They then narrowed the gap to 19-22 with tries by Benson Stanley and Tony Woodcock before Mealamu crossed for the winning touchdown. – AFP