Clarke on rampage as Blues take gold

By LUKE JARMYN

Blues……………………………..41pts Chiefs ……………………………10pts

Tries: A Ioane 12, Clarke 21, 50, 61, Lam 72

Conversions: Plummer 13, 22, 51, 62, 73

Penalties: Plummer 15, 39

Tries: Parker 65 Conversions: McKenzie 66 Penalties: McKenzie 17

ALL BLACK Caleb Clarke put in an outstanding three-try showing to steal the headlines as the Blues won their first Super Rugby title for 21 years in mesmeric fashion.

Predictions of a tight contest were brushed away by the Auckland side’s forward dominance, while Clarke’s hat-trick, with the winger’s power running, guile and clinical execution with the ball in hand proving pivotal. It led to jubilant scenes at a rain-soaked Eden Park, with Blues victory over Chiefs on home soil ending a barren spell going back to 2003.

It was a personal triumph for Clarke, who’s followed in his father Eroni’s footsteps by scoring a try for the Blues in a winning Super Rugby final, and the tearful winger said: “That was a tough one, we had so many boys step up for the big occasion. To finally get the job done, for the whole Blues region, and we’re just all really happy.

“I’m super proud, and it means a lot not just to my family but so many other families that back the boys week in, week out, and it wasn’t just us as a 23 alone, we had a whole tribe behind us.

“To link up with Akira for the first try, in his final game, was pretty special. For a group that’s been together for so long, it’ll take a while to sink in.

Going into the final as favourites after beating the table topping Hurricanes, Chiefs started fast, pinning the Blues deep in their own territory straight from kick-off.

A penalty against Blues’ Akira Ioane, for keeping hold of the ball, gave Chiefs fly-half Damien McKenzie a 52-metre chance to take an early lead, but the kick fell short.

The home side held their nerve in the all-North Island clash and utilised their heavier pack to work downfield. In their first real attack, Blues produced four rapid phases before blind-side Akira Ioane dived under three black-shirts to score a pick-and-go try.

Blues fly-half Harry Plummer scored the conversion and a penalty kick two minutes later before McKenzie’s boot made it 10-3 on the 15-minute mark.

Hooker Tyrone Thompson’s poor lineout – in his first start of the season – put Chiefs on the back foot again and, in a flash, Blues strung together some quick ball, with the Ioane brothers linking up to keep the ball in play and setting up Clarke to dot down in the left corner.

Chiefs’ ill-discipline saw Plummer add three points just before half-time, and things went from bad to worse for Clayton McMillan’s side, conceding three penalties early in the second-half with tighthead George Dyer sin-binned for offside A quickly taken Blues scrum on Chiefs five metre line led to Clarke darting down and sliding over the whitewash in extraordinary fashion to score his second try.

Caleb Clarke scores one of his three tries as Blues take down the Chiefs

PICTURE: Alamy

The 25-year-old effectively sealed the win on the hour-mark; Blues ruck speed couldn’t be contained before Scottish-born scrum-half Finlay Christie’s pinpoint cross-field pass found Clarke on the left flank, side-stepping McKenzie to dash over. Plummer’s conversion made it 24 unanswered points.

Chiefs’ flanker Simon Parker got on the end of a Anton Lienert-Brown line-break to grab a consolation try, before Blues centre AJ Lam muscled over off a driving maul in the final minutes to complete the win.

Blues skipper Patrick Tuipulotu was full of praise for head coach Vern Cotter and his impact in his first season at the club. He said: “We wanted to add to the Blues rugby legacy and we’ve done that. Vern’s had a massive impact. He’s been really positive for us.”