Following a heavy 59-34 defeat to Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific clash at FMG Stadium Waikato on Saturday, here are the player ratings for the Blues.
Backline struggles
15 Zarn Sullivan: Place-kicking was mixed and, although he made a few metres with ball in hand, Sullivan very much faded after the interval. 5
14 AJ Lam: Managed one try, could have had another only to be denied by a magnificent Josh Jacomb hit, but he missed too many tackles and was unable to influence the game enough, which sums up his season. Lam’s scored plenty of tries in 2026 – eight in fact – but he’s not been as dominant as recent campaigns. 5
13 Xavi Taele: Struggled to produce on both sides of the ball. Missed a couple of tackles and didn’t do enough with ball in hand. 5
12 Pita Akhi: Made an error for the Chiefs’ opening try when he narrowed the defensive line to allow Reon Paul to scamper through a gap to set up Kyren Taumoefolau. Ahki had some decent moments outside of that with the visitors’ attack looking slightly better in the opening period, but it was a struggle in the third quarter before he went off.
11 Caleb Clarke: Was busy in the first half and looked to be finding his form but it was a difficult second half for the whole team and Clarke was no different. However, he did manage to get over for a deserved score. 6
10 Stephen Perofeta: Starting at 10 for the third time in four Super Rugby Pacific matches, Perofeta looked like he was getting the side moving in the first half, but he had an absolute stinker after the break. Had a horror moment for Liam Coombes-Fabling’s score, which proved decisive as the Aucklanders never recovered after that. 4
9 Sam Nock: He was outplaying All Blacks scrum-half Cortez Ratima in the first half thanks to his swift service at the break, but surprisingly got taken off early in the second period and it all went wrong for the Blues in the final half-hour. That was just coincidental but Nock, from a purely personal perspective, might be happy that he was replaced given what transpired. 7
The best of the Blues
8 Malachi Wrampling: The whole Blues loose trio can hold their heads high with all three impressing. Wrampling got an opportunity to start ahead of Hoskins Sotutu and the number eight was excellent, carrying hard and doing his work on defence, before he was another to be replaced early, which proved to be a mistake. 7
7 Anton Segner (c): Magnificent in the first half, winning two turnovers and getting his side over the gain line with ball in hand. Had a tougher time of it after the interval, but still did enough to impress the All Blacks coaches. 7
6 Torian Barnes: Got a start after his stunning impact from the bench against the Hurricanes and he did not disappoint. Opened the scoring with a fine surge, showing his explosiveness in the carry, before continuing to impress for the rest of the match. Was their best defender with 15 tackles made – the Blues’ highest. 7
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5 Sam Darry: The Blues’ best forward outside of the lineout. Had to be deducted a mark for that, but Darry was everywhere in the loose. Was physical on both sides of the ball and never took a backwards step. 7
4 Josh Beehre: As already mentioned the set-piece did not go well, while Beehre was nowhere near as effective as his lock partner around the field and was replaced just before the hour mark. 4
3 Marcel Renata: Struggled in the scrum and did not influence the game too much in the loose. Little to really write home about. 4
2 James Mullan: Like Bradley Slater last week, Mullan had a shocker in the lineout. The Blues still stayed in the contest despite the set-piece not working, but their eventual collapse ultimately stemmed from those problems. 3
1 Mason Tupaea: A bit of a stinker from Tupaea, who was sent into reverse at the scrum and conceded a couple of penalties, one of them completely unnecessary. Did make 10 tackles in under 50 minutes, but it was a struggle for the front-row. 4
Replacements: The sub props didn’t fare much better than the starters and folded under the pressure the Chiefs exerted, but young hooker Eli Oudenryn, who scored a try, was outstanding and deserved a 7. However, he was ultimately part of a bench that struggled with the likes of Laghlan McWhannell, Hoskins Sotutu and Finlay Christie not doing enough when they came on. 4
READ MORE: Chiefs v Blues: Result, match details, stats, line-ups
