The Blues have put on a clinical defensive display to beat the Stormers 26-9 at Eden Park and record their third straight Super Rugby win.
In a low-scoring first half that was dominated by great defemnce from both teams it was winger Tanielu Tele'a who scored a try after some brilliance from Rieko Ioane before setting up his fellow winger to score.
The Blues came out of the sheds with determination on their face and used that drive early on to keep the Stormers out.
The visitors put 28 points on the Hurricanes last week – with a majority of those points coming through big scrum wins and a dominant line out drives, none of which they could achieve against the Blues at Eden Park.
The hosts were colossal in defence, holding the side from Cape Town to just three penalty goals in the match.
Sonny Bill Williams produced some magic to set up Otere Black for his try – Williams hitting the line hard before giving a trademark offload to set up the 23-year-old.
In the 70th minute, the Blues lost Tele’a to a red card after the winger caused Dillyn Leyds to flip in the air.
At 17-9 up and a man off the field, the Blues of old would have surely given the Stormers a sniff at victory – instead, they stayed staunch and produced heroic defence play after play.
Rieko Ioane sealed the deal for the hosts going over in the 75th minute to secure the victory and their third straight win in the competition – the first time in two years they’ve done that.
Newshub.
