Caleb Clarke's hat trick lifts Blues to 41-10 win over Chiefs in Super Rugby final

Associated Press
·3-min read

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Winger Caleb Clarke scored three tries to help the Auckland-based Blues beat the Hamilton-based Chiefs 41-10 in an all-New Zealand final of Super Rugby Pacific to end a 21-year title drought on Saturday.

Clarke scored in the first half to pad the Blues’ 20-3 lead by halftime and twice more in the second as the Blues dominated in a steady rain to win a Super Rugby title for the first time since 2003. The Chiefs lost in the final for the second straight year.

Akira Ioane, who played alongside his brother Rieko for the last time before heading to Japan, scored the Blues’ first try and provided the last pass in Clarke's second. He also claimed the lineout win which eventually led to Clarke’s third try. He left the field to a standing ovation in the 78th minute.

“That was a tough one and we had so many boys who stepped up,” Clarke said. “It was a big occasion especially for Akira, the coaches who have come in for the first time and a group that has been together for so long.

“It’s going to take a while to sink in but we finally got the job done.”

Captain Patrick Tuipulotu played despite a knee injury sustained two weeks ago and his frequent carries were a big part of the Blues’ dominant performance. He limped from the field in the 58th minute.

The Blues spent almost all of the first half in the Chiefs’ half, much of it inside the 22 and the fact they came away with only two tries was due to the immense effort of the Chiefs’ defense. But the Chiefs’ discipline was lax and they repeatedly conceded penalties.

Eventually the combination of the Blues’ continues possession, territorial advantage and penalties wore down the Chiefs and they yielded three more tries in the second half, the last to A.J. Lam.

The Blues have been transformed this season by new head coach Vern “Stern Vern” Cotter, the former Scotland and Fiji coach. He took away many of the frills and added a ruthlessness that had been missing.

On Saturday, as they have been throughout the season, the Blues showed patience and were happy to attack through the relentless accumulation of phases in which Tuipulotu and Akira Ioane were key figures. Lam and Rieko Ioane also were prominent, getting among the forwards to make several telling interventions.

Akira Ioane scored the first try in the 12th minute. After flyhalf Harry Plummer carried the ball close to the line, Ioane picked it up, pushed his hands through the ruck and dotted it down.

Clarke scored the second after Rieko and Akira Ioane handled close to the touchline in the left hand corner. Akira Ioane was toppling out of play when he hurled the ball infield to Clarke to score.

Chiefs prop George Dyer was sin-binned in the 51st minute, the Blues won possession against a seven-man Chiefs scrum and Hoskins Sotutu detached and passed to Clarke. Clarke’s third came from a long, floated pass to his left wing from scrumhalf Finlay Christie.

The Chiefs scored a second half try through Simon Parker.

___

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

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