Kings vs Blues highlights: Blues win in a scrap

@ Carlos the Argie :/ it looked as if he was reffing schoolboys. being very nice , smiling , asking if all made sense. seriously dude , these are professional players , it does not need to make sense , ur the boss and ur word is the lAW!!! now i have no idea what experience he has or at which level , but he seemed to be punching above his weight. maybe it was his forst super game , again i dont know but he seemed in awe of the situation like a boy on the red carpet wondering why so many flashlights are there!!! i disagree with ur assessment of kings , they did not change. what they did was play on the borderlines or above the LAWS and get away with it due to a poor ref. that does not mean they are committing fouls or something. its just that their skill level is not good enuf for super rugger. and they know it - so they try to bridge the gap by playing outside the laws. like not keeping a gap at lineouts , or jumping accross on to the opposite jumpers. or flying in at rucks and taking out players just standing behind the ruck ..... and as i said before, the blues also did not adjust to the kings. somehow they went with the script and did not play what was infront. the kings were rushing in defence - the blues played the same flat line attack. the kings were flying in at rucks - blues did not commit the numbers. the kings were jumping accross the lineout - blues did not shorten it to get more room to maneuver. the kings were rushing in defence - blues did not chip over to make them re-think that. when the arguements about poor refs came up , i was wondering why the argie and jap refs were not getting more games. i liked the jap ref - he was very good in controlling the game. i did not like the argie ref - he failed to control the game. a very good example of lenient reffing was seen last week in english football - Tottenham vs Chelsea . the ref failed to gain early control and there were 12 yellow cards !!! and even after that the ref had been taken to task for failing to give 3 red cards for repeat offenses. if the ref does not have control - the the argie ref was tellling the kings to give the 2m gap at each and every lineout until the end - then the game can disintegrate. that is why refs like Joubert give a very early penalty. then both teams know not to muck around and play the game.

ThugbyFan, if the Blues play like they did ... you have no reason to fear ...

HI CUW! I watched the game last night on demand. I usually fast forward through the team announcements so I did not know who was refereeing. I didn't recognize the chap with the funny colors but was quite curious about his strange accent. I was wondering if a very thick afrikaner accent could be the culprit. I also wanted to know why when he was explaining issues he kept saying "Makes sense?". If I am a player, the last thing I want to hear from a ref are those words. Well, actually, YC or RC would be worse. Only when the game ended I checked the stats to find out it was my countryman Anselmi. Poor Blues! They had a very torrid time with an Argentine ref a few years ago at home and now they had issues with Anselmi. Well, both teams had. I think his performance was disappointing. No doubt. But, I also wonder who was playing against the Blues. Was it the same team pummeled last week in BA? I cannot imagine such change in one week. Are the Blues that bad? Are the Kings so schizophrenic? This was unusual and not the most entertaining match. I kept losing my concentration while watching, no coffee or Ritalin would help me paying more attention. Oh well. I'll try beer or a good bottle of Malbec next time. At least that would keep me happier.

well if am not mistaken , u have actually agreed with me - well in a lot more words :D also see my comment below on the ref. it was as if he was reffing a friendly ....

This game was worse...

Thanks Muzzo ... but sorry mate . cannot accept the "it is still a win" ...I think it was an insult to the opposition. They lacked respect for the Kings and it showed... that is what peeved me..

OB .. yeah thanks ... they didn't deserve to win .. I stayed up to watch that rubbish.

Peter, like TM I as a supporter during that period and before. In fact I still am loyal to them but last night was a real test... I don't recall such garbage dished out as a masquerade of S18 rugby... I have my own view of who of the squad should be playing and my views on positions that need to be addressed. A lot of points made by you I agree with, some I don't but that's fair enough. I know that the (Auckland) Blues will come back ... I only hope I live to see it.

Sorry CUW cannot agree .. Blues let themselves be manipulated into playing to the Kings limited strengths instead of imposing their game onto the opposition. I also think the youth and inexperience of the side, not well lead were complacent and disrespectful of their opposition who were 'dragged down to their level of play'. The game was an insult to Blues fans who have stuck with the under performing franchise though many barren years. There was zero intensity (which Tana must accept responsibility) and no words can pacify the way I felt last night. I stayed up to watch what I feel was the most uninspiring game I have watched in the S18 this year (and I have watched plenty!). No I will not desert them but I feel entitled to view my disdain as to their substandard performance which I feel vindicated only their arrogance in not respecting their opponents (and that is with respect to the Kings).

not improving at all - this was a come down from last week. they struggled with the Kings tactics and the ref was different from those we see in super rugger.

Yeah for Rugby Tragic, his team finally scored an away win. At least the Blues are improving over last year's effort, so all is not lost. Just needs some input of talent to catch the other 4 kiwi sides. As an Ozzie, I look at their rosters and go green before weeping that we have to play them soon. :(

It was still a win RT, & congrats. I too, stayed up, & watched. It was not a good game, but it was great to see Tana, come away with the win.

I thought the argie ref was poor. it looked as if he wanted to give no cards despite repeated infringements. for example on blues ball , the ref was telling the kings to maintain the gap each and every time. even untill the end he was doing this. imo , he shud have given a freekick after the 3rd time. that would have made the kings re-think. the kings were jumping accross at lineouts. in the previous game , the ref gave penalties for the same offense. the kings were offside at setplays and at rucks many times. when blues were on their 5m line, at least 3 kings were off side at different time, he even called their numbers. it is understandable that the kings would try everything leagal and illegal to get an advantage , given they do not have the calss or skills to play in this tournament. but the ref shud have done something to make it a better game. blues on their part seemed to have lost the sync they showed last week , when their line ran beautifully and made some nice breaks. maybe they were a little upset by the kings defence that was rushing fast, many a time bordering on offside.

Yeah, a couple of hours of my life that I want back.

I give Ihia West a hard time, he has some skills but has some pretty bad shortcomings. My 19 yr old son is a huge Ihia West fan, but like typical teenage fanboys he cherry-picks the good parts and totally ignores the rest. A month ago when Rene Ranger popped a pass to West and he scooted 20 meters on an unimpeded run to the line for a try:- MY SON : See Dad, See !! Ihia West is the Man !! He's got skills !! He will be an All Black one da.. ME: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!

That match was Tahs v Rebels.... I watched it too

Yes I know what you mean, that period was surreal, like no one could even bother trying to beat them. As much as I would've liked the run to continue rugby needed professionalism and that meant all bets of for Auckland as a stronghold. Suddenly anyone outside the Blues squad was up for grabs, and have been ever since. And rugby came alive again, big time. But after its run from the players of that era, it washed up and squads were picked in competition with the other franchises. Still think Auckland club rugby is by far the strongest, but the players just don't stay. I'm guessing there are more Auckland born or raised players in the ten OZ/ NZ squads than from any other city, by a distance.

I lived in Auckland during that epic Ranfurly Shield run. Best provincial team the world has ever seen playing brilliant entertaining rugby. Went to every game at Eden Park and it was a privilege to watch. Eden Park was full initially and the fans extremely supportive. But as the run continued apathy set in with the fans and crowd numbers dropped and they started even cheering for the underdog. The team was still just as brilliant playing magnificent rugby, but the average Aucklander lost interest, it was pathetic. So when the drought years came I felt no sympathy at all for Auckland, but you have suffered enough now, time to get great again.

Yeah it just seems to be the same comments every year though in fairness last years side would have lost this match, the 'brilliant one minute' not preceding the school boy errors...just heaps of those. They still rush everything like its the last play of their lives and the errors just keep coming. Oh well, at least we'll take the win...any win...

Yep!! Feel a bit sorry for Tana, he has to play the hand he was dealt with his squad. Next year he will have Pulu at Halfback, hes a huge upgrade on Hall. First five, I have no clue what you do here...the cupboard is bare and has been seemingly forever. Moala would be a passable 2nd five as long as 1) he learns how to pass, 2) gains some kind of kicking skill 3) isnt outside Ihia West, because if you have West at 1st five you have to have someone to calm him down at 2nd and not make more dunderhead moves than he does now. Ranger at center? Big, strong, powerful, great forager, adequate defender...poor handling, not a great distributor. Younger Ioane brother on one wing, someone other than Tevita Li on the other. Visinia at fullback and hope he doesn't have too many brain-fades Still not good, Ranger is best suited to the wing as is Moala, so basically you need a new 1st five, 2nd five and center and maybe a fullback...good luck with that.