– This article originally appeared on stuff.co.nz and is reproduced with permission
Caleb Clarke, like his Blues team-mate Nepo Laulala, might need to think about refining his technique after his surprise red card in the Blues’ 46-16 victory over Moana Pasifika at Eden Park.
Just as had been the case in the previous fixture between the two crosstown rivals just four days ago at Mount Smart Stadium, the Blues got home despite a second-half sending off that took the wind out of their sails just a little, not to mention reduced their numbers on the field. They were helped significantly by an historic hat-trick of tries by hooker Kurt Eklund (all via the driving maul) as he became the first No.2 to grab three scores for the franchise in a Super match.
Clarke was probably a little unluckier in his Saturday night dismissal than Laulala had been on Tuesday for his shoulder to the head at a ruck that earned him a three-week suspension. The big wing was red-carded for a 52nd-minute aerial challenge on Moana wing Tomasi Alosio in which he appeared to hip-check his opposite while leaping to challenge a chip and chase.
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The problem for Clarke was he made contact with Alosio’s head, which in the modern game is a no-no. Zero tolerance is now pretty much the rule of law. So despite the fact Clarke had actually jumped before Alosio made his play, and had no way of changing direction, referee James Doleman brandished red to send World Rugby’s clear message.
Clarke looked confused as he trudged off, naturally wondering what he could have done. The simple answer was not launch himself in the air and put yourself at risk of making contact with someone’s head. The modern game appears to have no wriggle room on that cardinal sin.
It was a pity for man-on-a-mission Clarke as he had been in the process of building a nice body of work in 2022 for a Blues side that has now improved to 5-1 for the season, and 22 points after Saturday’s seven tries to one result. It has not all been impressive fare by any means, but last year’s Trans-Tasman champs are at least heading in the right direction.
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Clarke had crossed for one well-taken try in the first half, ran for 36 metres on five carries, beat a trio of defenders and had looked sharp as a tack as he took another positive step down a pathway he hopes will result in his slipping the black jumper back on again later this year.
Ian Foster will surely find a place for a 107kg wrecking ball of a wing who looks to have trained the house down over the summer, and seems intent on making up for his lost 2021.
Remember, Clarke rolled the dice last year and threw his lot in with the national sevens programme in an attempt to add an Olympic gold medal to his resume. The Kiwi men had to settle for silver in Tokyo, but Clarke was confined to a spectating role as he failed to make the cut for the tournament.
That was a bitter disappointment for a young man who had made his All Blacks breakthrough in a spectacular 2020 campaign which he ignited by lighting up Eden Park with a brilliant display of power rugby against the Wallabies.
He is desperate to get back to that arena, and everything he has done this year – and he was averaging 80 metres a game with 3.5 defenders beateb and 1.5 clean breaks heading into this game – has indicated he is up to that task.
The Blues meanwhile chug along, their effort in keeping Moana scoreless in the second half front of nearly 15,000 home fans on Saturday as impressive as anything they’ve done this year.
The new chums from up the road are no easybeats, and continued to play a physical, tough brand of footy in this second crosstown clash in four days. But the Blues won with ease as they collected that trio of scores off the drive and added further touchdowns to Clarke, Corey Evans (his first for the franchise), Bryce Heem and AJ Lam.
The real challenges are looming, with the Chiefs and Crusaders up next, but a Blues side with some of its major weaponry watching from the stands, has slipped into some promising form.
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