The Blues have held out for a nine-point win at home over the Force.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Blues 24
Force 15
This Round 6 match sees the Force travelling to Auckland to play the Blues. Join The Roar from 3:15pm (AEDT) for all the live action.
Last weekend, the host side got their season back on track with a hard-fought win over the Bulls, while the Force went down to the Crusaders – one of the early form teams of the competition – in Christchurch.
Both sides have had a less than ideal start to their seasons and are already under pressure to keep up with their individual conference partners, so competition points are vital.
With plenty of attacking talent on show, we should expect an end-to-end affair, as both sides enjoy giving the ball some air.
The control in the halves will be paramount, particularly for the Blues, where the No.10 jersey has been a point of contention. Piers Francis has another opportunity to nail down this position and his performance will be closely scrutinised.
The battle between the halfbacks will be one to savour, with Augustine Pulu for the Blues and Ryan Louwrens for the Force going to head to head.
Out on the flank, two exciting wingers in Melani Nanai and Chance Peni face off against each other and should provide plenty of highlights.
Prediction
The Blues possess a stronger bench and I would expect to see this affect the result in the last quarter.
Blues by 12.
Join The Roar as we cover all the action from Eden Park, and we welcome your comments on the match as it unfolds.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Tahs are going overboard on their kicking game. Staring to look like Jakeball.
scottd
Guest
I thought he was good too
Diggercane
Guest
Do both
Digby
Roar Guru
Nope, I thought he was excellent.
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
Am I the only one who got impressed by the Japanese ref? I thought he had total control of the game from the start and when he did the odd mistake it seemed that the players were buying his actions and excuses right away; for me that is proof that the ref is respected by both teams.
taylorman
Guest
Gee I'm sorry they wear thin with you, is there an ointment for that? I'm grateful for the win as well, but it didn't come easy and the quality at times was far below the Blues standards this year, and I thought the Force deserved some recognition, but hey...
taylorman
Guest
Thanks Kev, you are like a ray of sunshine bursting through those shutters on a crisp Spring morning.?
Rugby Tragic
Guest
Rooting for you and Messam in the next one ...
Rugby Tragic
Guest
Mate, I would have got on earlier but I had to entertain 'my mate' and his lady and they wouldn't stop plying me with the stuff out of a bottle.... Hated not getting the bonus point as it killed off my multi's. ... but such is life! ... lol
Ryan
Guest
Comments like "they did more than enough to win" really wear thin with me. The fact is they didn't do enough that is why they lost. The Blues have had a few very poor seasons of late and I'll take any win they get.
taylorman
Guest
Good luck with the Bulls OB even though you won't need an ounce of it?
AndyS
Guest
Worked for Godwin...he didn't even need to take the field for the Brumbies, just sign the contract.
Old Bugger
Guest
The old "pin the tail on the donkey and call it a weasel" trick. Exceptional cunning, if I may say so.....
Machooka
Roar Guru
Truely 'magnificent'... 'suppose they DID win a game :)
Machooka
Roar Guru
Oh please... that is sooo tired, yesterday, and un-necessary :)
Digby
Roar Guru
» Click here to read the full match report Thank you all for joining me here, I will be moving on to Hamilton and the Chiefs Bulls clash up next - http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/04/01/chiefs-vs-bulls-super-rugby-live-scores-blog-3/ Hope you can join me there!! Chur.
Digby
Roar Guru
The Blues have triumphed at Eden Park over the Western Force by 24 points to 19 in an entertaining if messy affair. The match kicked off and it was all the force in the opening quarter, playing with more structure and cohesion and benefiting from the Blues poor discipline and handling to start the match, dominating territory and possession scoring an early penalty to first five Jono Lance before a well-deserved try to Richie Arnold who barged over from close range after several raids from the Force forward pack finally paid dividends and the Force had an 8 to nil lead. The Blues were quite unsettled and were probably trying to play ‘too much rugby’ meaning poor option taking and low percentage plays dominating their early efforts but after earning a few penalties themselves, they were able to bring their powerful ball runners into the match and a more direct route started to play dividends and the turning point in the match came when referee Shuhei Kubo, who had a very good match, sin binned Force Number 8 Isi Naisarani for cynical play close to the line and the Blues had the advantage. The Blues certainly did their best not to take advantage of their extra man, the Force scrapping hard in that period but two quick tries, one from a maul to Akira Ioane and the second to Matt Duffie finishing off a good break by George Moala, saw the Blues head into the break up by 12 to 8. The second half was a scrappy affair, neither side could really take control of the match and the game threatened to drift into obscurity but the Blues finally managed to display their attacking talent with Michael Collins, Melani Nanai and replacement Reiko Ioane combining for a superb 80 meter effort to send Ioane in and essentially secure the victory for the Blues. A brilliant piece of individual work from Ihaia West put Collins away in the corner a few minutes later to stretch the lead to 24 to 8 and gift the Blues a bonus point but the Force were not done, a wonderful length of the field effort seeing Dane Haylett-Petty score a consolation try and reduce the deficit to 9 points. Both sides threw the ball around for the last five minutes, searching for their individual bonus point extra but neither could execute and the final score remained 24 to 15. It was a much needed win for the Blues to keep pace with their fellow conference rivals and have a tough fixture away to the Highlanders next week while the Force return home to Perth to face the Kings in Round 7.
AndyS
Guest
The instant he pulls on a Waratahs top...
Old Bugger
Guest
Congrats mate......tough going but, the lads got over the line, to get that one.
taylorman
Guest
Yes, a game of two halves! Plan B with the Under 9's worked a treat. Even Baldrick would have been impressed with that cunning plan?