Sharks push Blues deeper into crisis

The Sharks registered a vital 29-23 victory over the Blues in Auckland, plunging the New Zealand franchise further into crisis.

The Blues’ attacking play was without venom and their defence leaky. it is likely coach Pat Lam will now be dismissed.

15-0 down in the first half, they fought back to 15-13 at halftime. They outplayed the Sharks in this period, with the Sharks scoring two tries via intercepts.The Blues registered 17 handling errors, which undid them.

They then scored a converted try after the restart to take the lead for the first time. However, in typical Blues fashion, they went to sleep defensively and conceded two converted tries in five minutes, the first from Keegan Daniel and the second a controversial Tim Whitehead dotdown. The midfielder clearly knocked the ball forward into a Blues player but regathered before scoring.

The Sharks bench gave them new impetus but they couldn’t manage the try that would have sealed the game. With 13 minutes left, Gareth Anscombe kicked his side to within a converted try of taking the lead. But the Blues looked like a team who could not win from that position.

Back to Durban with five points and two tour wins out of four games – an acceptable return. — Rugby Reporter, SportsCentral

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