Page 38 - Blues v The Lions

Steven Luatua is going to to be red up up and ready to to cause an an upset
PREVIEW
BLUES
ON THE
CHARGE
Fresh from their historic Super Rugby win in in in Apia Samoa
the the the the Blues are ready to to to to follow in in in in in in the the the the footsteps of Auckland and and create history again again with a a a a a a a a a a win against the the the tourists WORDS: CAMPBELL BURNES
AUCKLAND HAVE BEATEN
the the British & Irish
Lions on on on six occasions That is is is the the the benchmark for the the Blues who tonight must follow in in the the the the footsteps of the the the the provincial side they represent and and and use the the the the the the same same setting and and and the the the the same same Auckland crowd in in in their their favour to to to start writing their their own bit of history into the the the record books Eden Park is is is used to to to to seeing history being made and and as the the rst New Zealand Super Rugby side to to to ever face the men in in in red Tana Umaga will be hoping his his side do exactly that in in in in front of a a a a a a packed stadium this evening For the Lions Auckland’s record serves as a a a a word of warning but so too
did last Saturday’s game against the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians in in in Whangarei Anyone who saw the game will have seen how much an an an inspired young team of of New Zealanders with only a a a a a a a a smattering of of Super Rugby experience can raise their game when faced with the the the famous Lions Looking at at how close the the the Barbarians came to to a a a a a a a a a a a great upset
having led the the tourists must surely act as inspiration for the the Blues Blues Win tonight and and the the Blues Blues players coaches and and fans will have a a a a a a a a story that they’ll be telling people long after the the the Lions leave town It also means they’ll have made history twice in just over a a week As part of an Investec Super Rugby campaign that has showed only glimpses of the the Blues’ obvious potential last week they took a a a a a a a a “home” xture to to Apia Samoa
and beat the the the the Reds A A timely victory there has given them some much-needed con dence going into tonight’s match and it it also saw them test the the the quality of the the the squad Several players had niggling injuries after a a a a a a a a demanding month which meant Augustine Pulu Blake Gibson Matt Duf e e e e e e e and George Moala all all sat out the match Additionally Sonny Bill Williams had not recovered suf ciently from the the knee injury that forced him off against the the Chiefs 38 // OFFICIAL SOUVENIR PROGRAMME