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It was a merciless 26-13 drubbing of the Waratahs last week, and now the Blues head over the ditch to double up on their Australian counterparts the Reds in what is shaping up as another brutal trans-Tasman battle at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night. We’ll have live updates and a Blues blog from 7.30pm.
The New Zealand outfit are captained by former All Blacks hooker Kevin Mealamu and the three-time Super Rugby champions will have no fears walking into a cauldron of 50,000 passionate Queenslanders to take on the in-form side of the competition.
Despite losing to the Reds 37-31 in a Round 13 shootout, Pat Lam’s men will be heartened by the fact they had been unbeaten at Suncorp Stadium going all the way back to 2004.
Through a dominant forward pack, the Blues were able to retain the lion’s share of possession against NSW last week but the Reds will provide far stiffer opposition, and one of the challenges for the Blues will be overcoming the loss of influential lock Anthony Boric.
A 10-5-1 regular season record led the Blues to second in the New Zealand conference and fourth on the overall table, and gritty away wins against conference rivals the Chiefs, Highlanders and Hurricanes show the Auckland-based unit have what it takes to tough it out on the road.
Admittedly, their late season form has been patchy, but so has Queensland’s and with a solid performance last week the Blues will be quietly confident that they have the momentum and finals experience to advance to their fifth Super final.
If the Blues can get on top of the Reds’ pack and Stephen Brett can limit the impact of Cooper then it could go right down to the wire. In a first at The Roar we’ll be running two separate blogs – one for the Reds, and one for the Blues. Pick a team, or jump in for discussion on both sides from 7.30pm AEST on Saturday night.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.