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The two touches by Beauden Barrett that showed how high his rugby IQ is
By Ben Smith
The return of Beauden Barrett to the starting line-up produced the magic that the Blues had envisioned from the first five as they romped home to a 25-0 win.
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The Blues built a steady first half lead on the back of incredible defence before Barrett came up with the play that broke the Chiefs by pushing the visitors out to a 20-0 lead in the second half.
The key play by Barrett was a typical blend of risk-taking, skill and quick thinking that showed his high level of rugby intelligence as he laid on a cross field kick to Blues blindside flanker Tom Robinson.
😍 This is why we LOVE the game! @BluesRugbyTeam are balling in the Tron.#CHIvBLU #SuperRugbyPacific pic.twitter.com/ZFClDUwaty
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) April 9, 2022
Barrett sparked the initial break by finding an offload for Mark Telea just outside his own 22, who broke away downfield and linked up with Rieko Ioane.
The Chiefs had just played a midfield lineout and shifted the ball wide to Rivez Reihana (23), who threaded through a kick deep into Blues territory.
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The Chiefs sent fullback Chase Tiatia (15) and Alex Nankivell (12) upfield as their chase line who both closed in and tackled Barrett.
The sneaky offload by the Barrett freed up Mark Telea, which immediately put scramble pressure on the Chiefs who did not have the fullback in their backfield.
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The Chiefs had two first fives, Bryn Gatland (10) and Rivez Reihana (23) defending back on the right side while Etene Nanai-Seturo (11) had to scramble from his left wing position.
Against the speed of Telea and Rieko Ioane (13), the Blues had a mismatch to exploit with a clear advantage in speed.
The two Blues backs combined nicely to deal with the Chiefs’ pair of 10s, with Ioane dropping underneath and taking a switch pass.
Nanai-Seturo had to save the Chiefs and he did, coming across from the far side to make a brilliant try saving cover tackle on Ioane.
But despite the incredible play by Nanai-Seturo to chase down Ioane, Barrett’s rugby intelligence would prove the difference.
Barrett stepped up immediately to make the knock out blow, understanding that the Chiefs had no left wing and no fullback in place.
Chase Tiatia (15) is seen defending at the ruck instructing Nanai-Seturo (11) to get back to the left side, despite having just saved his side on the right hand touchline.
Barrett knew they were out of position and made them pay, opting for the cross field kick to hit the space where the Chiefs had no cover.
The kick by Barrett was also a huge gamble in itself, with no advantage in place it was an all-or-nothing option but it paid off when Robinson got the dream bounce to slide over in the corner.
The Chiefs back three were taught a harsh lesson by the All Blacks 10 pulling the strings to turn the tables in a heartbeat.
Nanai-Seturo was the man who was eventually caught out of position, but only because he had busted his guts to save his teammates on the other side.
He did nothing wrong on the play, the Chiefs were just outplayed by Barrett in the space of thirty seconds.
And that is why the Blues paid up to get a playmaker like Barrett who has the ability to find and exploit weaknesses in quick fashion.
