Blues vs Hurricanes: Blues muscle up, Barrett's boot wins it

Two traditional heavyweights of Super Rugby, currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, collided at Eden Park on Saturday evening.

The Blues’ lone win of the season had come against the Hurricanes in round three, and after a bye week, they were desperate to get another in that column before their playoff chances evaporate entirely.

It was a low-scoring affair in Auckland, with neither side making it past 20 points for the first time all season. The boot of Beauden Barrett proved the difference in the contest, albeit by the slimmest of margins.

Here are some takeaways from the Blues’ win.

Barrett injects pace and accuracy

Beauden Barrett was masterful with his kicking game tonight. Working with all sorts of unfavourable angles, the All Black got his team out of trouble on numerous occasions.

Barrett found touch when he needed to and kicked contestable when he had sprinters in position to chase.

When his side’s attack was slow and lacking energy, the veteran took it upon himself to hit the ball with pace and challenge the Hurricanes’ line, threatening to break through early.

Of course, the goal-kicking was the most directly consequential element of Barrett’s performance, and the former Hurricane showed his old team what it takes to win tight games with his accuracy.

A more aggressive Ruben Love emerges

Ruben Love has struggled to be the game-breaking threat we know him to be in 2025.

But, it appears a classy performance against the Waratahs last week, in which he delivered four try assists, has helped rekindle the youngster’s confidence.

Love took the metres on offer when collecting clearances in Auckland, hitting the Blues’ line with pace on his returns. There were no flashy linebreaks or 20-metre flick passes to add to his highlight reel, but Love ran for the most metres in the game with just six carries.

It wasn’t the most polished performance from the one-time All Black, with a notable knock-on late in the piece contributing to the Blues’ win, but the fullback made good decisions without hesitation.

22m Entries

Avg. Points Scored

2.2

7

Entries

Avg. Points Scored

1.6

9

Entries

The Blues muscle up

The Blues kicked off this season largely disregarding the attacking DNA they developed en route to the title last season, but are now rediscovering that playstyle.

Having set the tone in 2024 by carrying a competition-high 135 times per game, the Blues managed to top that number tonight with some devastating pick-and-go rugby. You know when Finlay Christie steps back from the action that play is about to get physical, and that’s exactly what happened at Eden Park.

The Blues chewed through 139 carries against the Hurricanes and had some of their best moments of the season with the ball in hand.

The Canes were up to the challenge of taking the ball-runners down, making 90 per cent of their 205 tackle attempts, but surrendered plenty of territory in doing so.

The finishing touches were largely absent for the Blues, but one try to Marcel Renata and four penalties were the reward for earning points the hard way.

Kirifi is ready

In the late stages of this contest, you could see how aware the Blues were of Du’Plessis Kirifi’s presence at all times.

The Hurricanes’ co-captain was a bullet off the line, attacking the Blues ball carriers and keeping danger man Hoskins Sotutu in particular out of the game.

The familiar criticisms over Kirifi’s size fall short as he continues to prove to be one of the strongest and most effective players on the field in all collisions.

One timely turnover was his lone steal, but the Blues were sending multiple players into the breakdown to keep Kirifi’s hands away from possession, keeping the numbers on their feet even.

Kirifi was flirting with not-releasing penalties on a few occasions, something he’s been penalised for a few times this year and would have to address to fully earn the trust and favour of All Blacks selectors.

The openside was the most heavily employed ball-carrier for his team and made 18 tackles.