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Telea bags four as the Blues see off Hurricanes in thriller
By Ben Smith
Four tries from Mark Telea has propelled the Blues to a 36-25 win over the Hurricanes, who have been left to rue a misfiring lineout and goal kicking in poor conditions as the rain came down for a soggy night at Eden Park.
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Second five-eighth Jordie Barrett missed four kicks at goal and reserve No 10 Brett Cameron added another which ended up costing the visitors 16 points.
The visitors had a horror start with two injuries in two minutes, losing prop Xavier Numia to a shoulder injury early after a cleanout.
Moments later Julian Savea suffered a pectoral injury during a tackle on Caleb Clarke which forced a substitution for Salesi Rayasi.
Jordie Barrett opened the scoring 3-0 with a penalty goal to settle proceedings.
A 50-22 by Harry Plummer gave the Blues field position and following a scrum the home side was able to score the first try through Mark Telea.
The All Black winger powered through the Hurricanes defence directly off the scrum to give the Blues a 7-3 lead.
A break by Caleb Clarke was finished off by Hoskins Sotutu close to the line with a pick and go to extend the Blues advantage to 12-3.
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Sotutu looked to have his second after a Hurricanes’ error coming out of their own 22, only for lock Isaia Walker-Leawere to slap the ball out of his grasp at the last moment.
The Blues went out to a big 19-3 lead when Telea scored his second on an incredible solo run straight up the middle after a loose Blues’ pass went 15 metres backward.
With nothing happening having lost territory and momentum, Telea spotted a disconnected line and stepped on the gas to rip the Hurricanes up the middle.
In need of a response, it was Walker-Leawere who produced a brilliant offload to second row parter James Blackwell to spark a comeback.
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Blackwell found halfback Cam Roigard in support with a ball over the top who scampered away to score under the posts.
The Blues led 19-10 at the half but the Hurricanes roared back into contention after a blown scrum play from the home side early in the second.
A dropped ball was hacked ahead twice and centre Billy Proctor won the footrace to narrow the gap to 19-15.
But it was man of the moment Mark Telea who slipped four Hurricanes’ defenders close to the line to score his hat-trick try in the 63rd minute and gave the Blues a 24-15 lead.
Rayasi was injured on the play and was replaced by Jamie Booth, leaving the Hurricanes down to just one winger.
With 10 minutes remaining a pinpoint pass from No 8 Ardie Savea to Kini Naholo down the blind side of a scrum closed the gap to 24-20 to begin a chaotic final period.
The Blues hit straight back through Rieko Ioane after veteran Bryce Heem smashed through before linking with his midfield partner.
Another Blues error let the Hurricanes back in as Billy Proctor snatched a loose pass and produced a brilliant offload for Naholo’s second try.
Telea then latched onto a Bryce Heem grubber that stumped three Hurricanes defenders with a one-hand pick up that sent the wet Eden Park into raptures.
The loss all but rules out a home playoff for the Hurricanes who have to regroup for a final round match with the Crusaders.
The Blues moved up into third position while the Brumbies, yet to play the Chiefs, moved to fourth.
The Blues will host the Highlanders next week, who are in a battle to make the final eighth play-offs spot after keeping their hopes alive with a win over the Queensland Reds last night.
