All Blacks flanker Hoskins Sotutu yesterday grabbed a hat-trick of tries to propel the Auckland Blues to a 37-29 victory over the Otago Highlanders.
All six Super Rugby Pacific second-round games are being played in Melbourne this weekend and the Highlanders were on a high after beating Moana Pasifika to open their season, but they were put in their place by the formidable Blues, who rallied from an 15-8 deficit to cruise home and extend the Highlanders’ run of losses to teams from their own nation to 17 games.
“What I liked most about that was the way we stuck at it,” said Blues skipper Dalton Papali’i, another of the All Blacks contingent.
Photo: AFP
“At the end of the day I knew the boys were going to play the full 80 [minutes]. Proud of them for coming back like that,” he said.
The turning point came when winger Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens was yellow-carded just before halftime and the Blues took the lead for the first time.
They kept the pressure on with Sotutu crossing three times, while Taufa Funaki and Mark Tele’a also bagged tries for their second straight win after victory over the Fijian Drua last weekend.
It was the Blues’ seventh consecutive win over the Highlanders — their longest streak ever against the Otago club.
“I think we showed that we can play, but also showed that if we don’t play in the right parts of the field and give away silly penalties, the Blues will punish you,” Highlanders captain Billy Harmon said.
“Tough to swallow, but a lot of good out of it,” he said.
“We’ll take the win but it was a slow start,” Blues flyhalf Stephen Perofeta said. “The Highlanders are a formidable pack and they’re a team that will never give up. They showed that in the first 20 and probably in the last 20.”
“For periods of the middle game we found our groove and got into our power game, but towards the end there we probably overplayed our hand,” he said.
In yesterday’s other match, the the Melbourne Rebels defeated the Western Force 48-34.
Additional reporting by AP
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