The Blues have suffered injury blows to two of their All Blacks stars in the 55-21 win over the Waratahs in Super Rugby Pacific.
Full-back Stephen Perofeta was forced off the field after just 17 minutes due to a shoulder concern, whilst front-row Nepo Laulala only lasted until the 26th minute before he succumbed to a calf strain.
Not good signs
Blues boss Leon MacDonald admitted the injuries do look serious, but the extent of the damage is yet to be revealed as the stars’ World Cup hopes may hang in the balance.
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“Both look relatively significant,” said MacDonald. “Stevie felt his shoulder move a little bit … and I think he’s done something to that shoulder in the past. And Neps’ calf doesn’t look 100% great either.”
Whilst it was not ideal for the Blues, the side did receive some injury boosts as skipper Dalton Papali’i and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck are set to return this week.
The Blues were in fine form against the Waratahs, scoring some outstanding tries from all over the park in what ended up being a big win.
MacDonald praised his side for their creativity and how clinical they were, particularly in the second period.
“I thought we did enough when it mattered. We were quite creative in the first half without being ruthless with our finishing, which was a little frustrating. We seemed to find plenty of space but just weren’t able to get that ball over the line,” he said.
“The second half was better. We were clinical when we got close to the line, and were able to get the job done. And it was nice to get some players coming back from injury, or with limited game-time, some good minutes as well.”
“Adventurous”
The free-flowing attack was a joy to watch as last year’s finalists threw caution to the wind and MacDonald was happy with the attacking output.
“We’re still adventurous, still chancing our arm and going to the edges. We were finding space which is one of our key goals. We didn’t get it all right, but we’re creating a lot, and I’d much rather be creating and needing to fine-tune the finishing, than not creating at all,” he said.
Zarn Sullivan came on for Perofeta early on and had a superb game, with the replacement scoring two tries in an effort that impressed his coach.
“Outstanding,” MacDonald added. “He’s using everything he’s got at the moment. He straightened the attack up, he’s hard to tackle, and that left boot of his is priceless. He’s also pretty brutal with his defence. He gave us direction with his hard-running on the edges, and kick-started our attack at times.”