Less bad blood, more cold-blooded. On the eve of the highly anticipated final against the Crusaders, Blues skipper Dalton Papali’i is confident his team have made the adjustments to unlock the defending champions’ famous defence.
The Blues couldn’t do it last time out in Christchurch; the Crusaders outscoring them two tries to none in a 15-3 victory, but Papali’i, who was red-carded in that match due to a high tackle on Richie Mo’unga, believes this time will be different.
“We’ve got to score points,” he said. “That’s the first thing. We’ve made some tweaks around our attacking game plan. When we went down there last time our defence was good… but defence can only take you so far. You have to score points. We’ve made the tweaks and we have full faith in our game drivers.”
Those attacking leaders in the backline will include No.10 Beauden Barrett and fullback Zarn Sullivan. And with returning Caleb Clarke on the left wing, the in-form Mark Telea on the right, and Bryce Heem and Rieko Ioane in the midfield, the Blues have strike weapons across the park.
The Blues' main issue will be how to deploy them against a Crusaders team, hampered by injury, but usually in their element in cold and wet conditions at this time of year.
And the Blues will need to find ways to create those opportunities with slow ball.
The Crusaders, with loose forward Tom Christie and hooker Codie Taylor consistently menacing at the breakdown, are masters at slowing the ball and the visitors will have to find a strategy that puts their backs on the front foot without kicking the ball away because they couldn’t do it last time.
Significantly, perhaps, they also struggled to capitalise on their supremacy of possession and territory against the Hurricanes and Highlanders, albeit in two victories for the Blues at Eden Park recently.
The Crusaders will defend with intensity more like those Kiwi teams than the Waratahs did in last weekend’s quarter-final defeat to the Blues.
“They’ve built a fortress down there… we see it as an opportunity,” Papali’i said. “They’re 29 from 29 [in the playoffs] down there but we have to focus on ourselves and, as I say, see it as an opportunity to make history.
“We’re showing them respect, they’re bloody good, but we want to get the job done. We have to.”
Papali’i said assistant coach Paul Tito had improved the Blues’ lineout – a problem area in last year’s grand final defeat to the Crusaders - significantly since his arrival at the start of the season and that confidence had flowed through the rest of the team.
Asked about his tackling technique and whether he would change anything after his high hit on Mo’unga in the second half of their defeat to the Crusaders last month, an act which earned him a two-week ban, the All Blacks loosie said: “I’m still going to be aggressive. That’s a part of my game I pride myself on. I’ve just got to get lower.”
Bad blood or not, the Blues feel they are due. Call it revenge or simply the result of executing the basics better than their opponents.
Does Papali’i feel the Blues owe them one?
“Yes, 100%,” he said.
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