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Blues 48 Waratahs 21
Blues - 3 Heem, Robinson, Eklund, Ioane, penalty try tries; Black 4 conversions penalty goal
Waratahs - Bell, Gordon, Porecki tries; Harrison 3 conversions
Full time
81 mins - The Waratahs steal the Blues lineout and set up one final attack. After eight phases, the home side win a breakdown penalty and Black will kick the ball into touch to end the contest.
The win will see the Blues move back to the top of the Trans-Tasman table.
80 mins
The Waratahs have one final chance. Wing James Turner breaks clear down the left wing before putting a chip kick in behind. The ball lands kindly for Whetton who looks certain to score but Nock makes a try saving tackle to dislodge the ball.
78 mins - Try Blues to Bryce Heem
The Waratahs are looking to finish the contest with a bang as they attack just short of the Blues 22. Grant fires a long pass but Black is there to intercept and offloads quickly to Heem who sprints 80-metres to grab his hat-trick.
Black converts the try.(BLU 48-21)
74 mins
Tom Robinson makes a barnstorming run downfield and he looks to draw the final defender but Carlo Tizzano gets back and intercepts the pass to stop a certain pass. At the breakdown, the visitors win a reliving penalty and they will have a lineout just short of the 10-metre line.
70 mins
Alex Newsome makes a break down the left-wing and looks to chip over the top but it skews off his boot and straight into touch to end a promising attack.
68 mins - Try Blues to Bryce Heem
The Waratahs are attacking just inside their own half before Donaldson makes a mini-break and looks to offload but only finds Papalii who breaks clear.
The home side get deep inside the visitors 22 as they hunt the bonus point try. After seven phases, TJ Faiane fires a long cut-out pass to Heem who crosses over in the corner for his second of the evening.
Black can't convert the try. (BLU 41-21)
64 mins - Try Waratahs to David Porecki
The Waratahs grab their third of the evening. Gordon finds a little bit of space and goes inches short before David Porecki picks and goes to crash over.
Harrison converts the try. (BLU 36-21)
61 mins - The Waratahs are fighting to get back into the contest and win a breakdown penalty on halfway. They choose to go for a lineout, which is just 10-metres out.
59 mins - Penalty Try Blues
The Blues have a scrum just five metres out and it's bulldozing towards the line and the Waratahs are forced to collapse it to stop a try and Brendon Pickerill has awarded a penalty try.
56 mins - Yellow Card Waratahs to Harry Johnson-Holmes
The Blues have a lineout just 15-metres out and they set a rolling maul that is surging towards the line. The Waratahs have deliberatly collapsed the maul as it looks like it might lead to a try and the referee has sent Harry Johnson-Holmes to the bin.
53 mins
The Waratahs are hot on the attack deep inside the Blues 22 but Gerard Cowley-Tuioti wins a breakdown turnover and offloads to Christie.
The Blues halfback makes a mini-break before kicking the ball straight into touch to invite more Waratahs pressure, who will have a lineout inside the home sides 22.
50 mins - Try Blues to Rieko Ioane
The Blues grab their fourth of the evening. After a scrappy piece of play, Ioane picks the ball up from the breakdown and sprints 40-metres to score.
Black converts the try. (BLU 29-14)
47 mins
The Waratahs try to work a set play for the scrum and it doesn't come off with Gordon offloading to Blues halfback Christie and he clears down to halfway.
45 mins
The Waratahs have a lineout just inside the Blues 22 and they set a rolling maul. The drive goes close before they keep it tight with the forwards but after nine phases the referee awards a penalty for offside.
The Waratahs choose to take a scrum, which is just five metres from the line.
43 mins
The home side makes a meal of the lineout and give away a penalty for obstruction.
42 mins
The Blues get the first opportunity with the ball in hand after the visitors cleared from the kickoff. The Waratahs give away a breakdown penalty and the home side will have a lineout just five metres out.
Kickoff - The Blues get the second half underway.
40 mins
The Blues have a defensive scrum on their line and Akira Ioane gets it out and kicks it into touch to end the first half.
39 mins
The Blues give away a breakdown penalty and the Waratahs will have a lineout just five metres out with just a minute before halftime.
The visitors work a lineout move, which sees Bell go short but the Blues do well to hold him up and win the turnover.
38 mins - Try Blues to Kurt Eklund
The Blues set the rolling maul and the home side execute it perfectly with Kurt Eklund crashing over.
Black converts the try. (BLU 22-14)
36 mins
From the lineout, the Blues set the rolling maul and it close before Tuungafasi picks and goes but it looks like he is held up.
Brendon Pickerill has gone upstairs to see if there is a grounding. The TMO can't find evidence of a grounding and Pickerill will go back for an offside penalty and the home side choose to take a lineout.
35 mins
The Blues looks a little bit shellshocked after back-to-back tries. From the kickoff, the Waratahs clear with a high kick, which Black goes up to compete with Nawaqanitawase who takes him out in the air.
The referee gives a penalty and the Blues will have a lineout just 10-metres out.
34 mins - Try Waratahs to Jake Gordon
The Waratahs go bang, bang. Gordon sprints out of the line and intercepts a Christie short pass and he sprints 50-metres to score under the posts.
Harrison converts the try and suddenly it's just a one-point ball game. (BLU 15-14)
31 mins - Try Waratahs to Angus Bell
The visitors hit straight back. Harrison makes a strong run up to the Blues 22. The visitors get fast ball and Angus Bell storms into a great short ball from Gordon and the big prop crashes over.
Harrison converts the try. (BLU 15-7)
28 mins - Try Blues to Tom Robinson
The Blues get a lucky break when the Waratahs charge down a Sullivan chip kick that falls kindly for Heem. The big wing makes a strong run as he skips out of one tackle before offloading to Tom Robinson who crashes over.
Black converts the try. (BLU 15-0)
24 mins
From a scrum just short of the Blues 22, Lalakai Foketi takes the ball hard to the line but loses it in contact. The injury worries continue for the visitors with Foketi forced off for an HIA assessment after clashing heads in his previous run.
22 mins
Play has been stopped for Ofa Tuungafasi who might have a broken finger, so he is receiving treatment.
20 mins
Ben Donaldson produces a great offload to see Jake Gordan go close. From the next phase, a loose pass goes to the ground and Heem snaps up the loose ball and gets down to the 22. The home side get fasts ball and Faiane goes for the kick behind but it goes dead to ease the pressure.
18 mins
Alex Newsome storms downfield and gets into the Blues 22 but Gerard Cowley-Tuioti turns the ball over and as Black tries to clear his kick is charged down. The Blues scramble and Sullivan clears successfully this time to just outside his 22.
16 mins
The Blues steal the lineout and Akira Ioane smashes his way over the Waratahs defence before offloading to Gibson who gets brought down just 10-metres short of the line.
At the breakdown, the visitors win a reliving breakdown penalty.
Jack Whetton who had just come on was on the receiving end of the barnstorming run from Ioane and he'll have to go off for an HIA.
14 mins
The Blues make a meal of the lineout to ease the pressure and the Waratahs clear down to the 10-metre line. From the lineout, the Blues give away a breakdown penalty and they will have their first opportunity in the home side's half.
13 mins
The Waratahs give away a cheap penalty for forwards advancing in-front of the kicker before they were put onside. The Blues will have a lineout five metres out.
10 mins
The Blues have made a brilliant start to this contest with Sullivan putting a pin-point kick down to the Waratahs 22 to keep the pressure on.
8 mins - Try Blues to Bryce Heem
From the scrum, the Blues are piling the pressure on the Waratahs line. Black gets quick ball and fires a high cut out pass over to Heem who uses his size to bulldoze his way over.
Black can't convert the try. (BLU 8-0)
6 mins
From the kickoff, Christie makes a strong run downfield before offloading to Faiane who gets down to the 22. After five phases, the Blues get over the line but they are held up but Brendon Pickerill was playing advantage and the home side choose to take a scrum.
3 mins - Penalty goal to Otere Black
The Blues choose to take the three points and Black makes no mistake and puts the home side in front. (BLU 3-0)
The Waratahs have lost lock Max Douglas which will see former Blues player Jack Whetton come on.
2 mins
The Blues have made a good start to the contest with Heem making a strong run down to the visitors 22. After eight phases, the attack comes to nothing but the referee was playing advanatage for offside.
Kickoff - The Waratahs get the contest underway.
4:33pm - Both sides are out on the field and Brendon Pickerill is the man in the middle for this contest.
4:02pm - We are just 30 minutes away from kickoff and it's a grey and overcast day in Auckland.
*****
Kia ora, and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman clash between the Blues and the Waratahs from Auckland's Eden Park.
The Blues are coming off an emphatic 50-3 victory against the Melbourne Rebels in the opening round of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, and will be looking to join the Highlanders and Hurricanes with two wins from two.
Coach Leon MacDonald welcomes back captain Patrick Tuipulotu and Dalton Papali'i who both return from injury, while powerhouse No.8 Hoskins Sotutu will take a week off, after playing all the Blues' games this season.
The Waratahs' will be looking to bounce back from their loss to the Hurricanes in the opening rounds, where the defence of both sides forgot to turn up as 17 tries were scored at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The Sydney side will be looking to end their nine-game losing streak, as they hunt for their first victory in 2021, after going winless in Super Rugby AU.
The Blues hold the wood over the Waratahs, winning the last seven encounters - with the Australian side's last victory coming in 2015.
TAB:
Blues $1.001 Waratahs $21.00
Blues: 1-Karl Tu'inukuafe, 2-Kurt Eklund, 3-Ofa Tuungafasi , 4-Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 5-Josh Goodhue, 6-Tom Robinson (c), 7-Blake Gibson, 8-Akira Ioane, 9-Finlay Christie, 10-Otere Black, 11-AJ Lam, 12-TJ Faiane, 13-Rieko Ioane, 14-Bryce Heem, 15-Zarn Sullivan
Reserves: 16-Soane Vikena, 17-Alex Hodgman, 18-Marcel Renata, 19-Patrick Tuipulotu, 20-Dalton Papali'i, 21-Sam Nock, 22-Harry Plummer, 23-Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
Waratahs: 1-Angus Bell, 2-David Porecki, 3-Harry Johnson-Holmes 4-Hugh Sinclair, 5-Max Douglas 6-Lachlan Swinton 7-Charlie Gamble 8-Will Harris 9-Jake Gordon ©, 10-Ben Donaldson, 11-James Turner, 12-Lalakai Foketi, 13-Izaia Perese, 14-Alex Newsome, 15-Jack Maddocks
Reserves: 16-Joe Cotton, 17-Te Tera Faulkner, 18-Darcy Breen, 19-Jack Whetton, 20-Jack Dempsey 21-Carlo Tizzano, 22-Jack Grant 23-Will Harrison
Despite red-hot start, Blues assistant preaches consistency
The Blues are preaching consistency as they look to make a serious impact on Trans-Tasman Super Rugby.
After an underwhelming Aotearoa campaign that saw them limp home in third spot, the Blues sit atop the table after week one of their shot at redemption.
A 50-3 thrashing of the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday night may have the mojo back for the Auckland-based franchise, but for assistant coach Tom Coventry, it's more about backing up a solid start to the Australiasian competition.
The Waratahs visit Eden Park on Saturday afternoon, and given they are considered the weakest of the Australian sides, the Blues have an opportunity to make another statement on their intentions in the inaugural tournament.
"Everyone acknowledged we probably weren't where we needed to be with consistency in the last competition, and now we get to reset ourselves and look at growing into this competition rather than getting too far ahead," Coventry says.
"It's very much a one-game-at-a-time focus.
"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves.
"For us, it's all about our performance and making sure we can back it up and have some consistency with what we're doing.
"It's important for us to work through this competition and get better at being consistent."
But despite a clean sweep of wins for the five Kiwi franchises in week one, Coventry isn't buying into a complete Aotearoa dominance of Super Rugby.
Pointing to two razor-close wins for the Crusaders and Chiefs, Coventry says the gap isn't as big as reflected by the results of week one.
"Everyone has been commenting on the fact that Kiwi teams were on top for this round, but there were a couple of close scores, and some of the teams who weren't up to speed in the first round will be better for it.
"If you look at the Brumbies and Force it came down to a couple of goal kicks at the end that could have drawn the match in Christchurch and won the game in Perth.
"Those two teams were highly competitive.
"What happens with competitions is teams usually grow into it - anyone who takes for granted it's going to be a walk-through with these Aussie team, they're highly mistaken.
"I don't think the competition is as divided as some perceive it to be."
The Blues will be hoping for two major reinforcements this week in skipper Patrick Tuipulotu and influential openside Dalton Papalii.
Both have been missing for several weeks with minor injuries, but there is a chance they will train this week in preparation for the Waratahs clash.
Regardless, Coventry is stressing the importance of continuing to improve on what they showed in Melbourne, and brush off the demons of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
"It was a much-improved performance [against the Rebels].
"We went about our work pretty well at wearing them down, used the scoreboard pressure with some nice goalkicking early doors, and by end of the first half got ourselves over the line through sustained pressure and a patient buildup.
"We spoke about being clinical towards the end of the first half and carrying that through into the second spell, which I thought we did well and finished over the top of them by scoring some pretty nice tries.
"We just need to follow that up this weekend."
