The Blues made it past the Cheetahs to earn 4 points by beating them 29 – 22 in a scrappy Super Rugby affair at Toll Stadium in Whangarei on Saturday.

The combative Cheetahs had no match for the core experience provided for the Blues by front row internationals Keven Mealamu and John Afoa. The pair were constantly running off rucks and hammering away at the close-quarter Cheetahs defence which had stymied many Blues efforts to run the ball during the first 50 minutes of the game. They had to step up after fellow international Tony Woodcock limped off with a calf strain in the first half.

They were instrumental in the 56th-minute try for number eight Peter Saili which assured the Blues of the win, typically taking ball into the ruck before flanker Luke Braid was fed into a gap to find replacement Benson Stanley who linked with Saili, who scored in the corner.

As the Cheetahs mounted a late counter it was their solidity that took play back into Cheetahs territory to secure the bonus try. That came in the 73rd minute from full-back Isaia Toeava, whose strength fended off Cheetahs livewire half-back Sarel Pretorius and full-back Riaan Viljoen.

However, the Blues had received a reminder that they could not afford to let their game drop after they had gone 24-3 up. It was provided by Pretorius who was on the ball in a flash after a midfield collision between Blues wings Joe Rokocoko and Rene Ranger.

The ball was moved through Pretorius to wing Phillip Burger, centre Robert Ebersohn and back to Pretorius from a breakdown on the Blues goal-line and he dived through to score.

Eight minutes later Pretorius was over again following a strong period camped on the Blues’ goal-line and after several attempts, he finally found a hole in the defence with replacement Naas Olivier adding the conversion to get the Cheetahs to 24-15 behind.

Finding a way through a spread Cheetahs defensive line which knocked back several early efforts took 17 minutes and instead of hand-to-hand passing, Alby Mathewson put up a high kick from a maul just inside the Blues half.

Wing Ranger got up to contest the ball and knock it back where Mathewson waited. He got the ball to lock Kurtis Haiu, who had already featured in several barging runs. Haiu then lobbed a pass to Stephen Brett and he found wide open spaces. As the cover came across Brett slipped the ball to Rokocoko who scored in the corner. That proved no distraction to Luke McAlister, who landed his first successful attempt for the night having missed a penalty goal attempt earlier.

After 24 minutes it appeared the Cheetahs had scored a length-of-the-field try through wing Wilmaure Louw after a turnover when it appeared Brett might have scored. But after a thrilling burst of interpassing which saw Louw score, touch judge Ben Skeen pointed out that before the turnover Louw had held Brett back as he attempted to chase his kick and play returned 80 metres downfield.

The Cheetahs were impressive in their efforts to move the ball back at the Blues, but their own handling mistakes and misjudged passes cost them as the Blues were able to relieve the mounting pressure.

When Corne Uys dropped another pass in the 37th minute, the Blues pounced through Mealamu and

Afoa. They tidied the ball and it was moved to McAlister who broke the defensive line and raced into the clear. As the cover closed in on him he passed to the supporting Brett who touched down for McAlister to add the conversion.

The Cheetahs did get some reward for their efforts when Sias Ebersohn landed a penalty goal on the half-time break.

The Cheetahs played a high-speed style of game which, had it been performed with more efficiency could have been much more effective.

Source + Pic: sportinglife.com