Blues admit to ‘bumbling’ their way to Super Rugby semi-final

Hoskins Sotutu may play his final match for the Blues this weekend.
Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2025 www.photosport.nz

Despite dropping four on the trot, the Blues are somehow still alive in Super Rugby Pacific.

The epitome of ‘lucky losers’, the Blues have sneaked into the semi-final courtesy of a highly-criticised competition quirk.

Coach Vern Cotter admits they have not exactly been setting the competition on fire of late.

“We bumbled our way through to a semi-final and get an opportunity to play Hurricanes and be the number one team. So, we’ll just keep bumbling along, I guess, and see if we can put them in a bit of trouble this week. There’s a bit of excitement around that challenge and obviously we’d like to have another week at it, and it’ll just be up to the 80 minutes or longer that we have to put in down in Wellington this weekend.”

The biggest beneficiaries of the rule since its introduction in 2025, the Blues are embracing their second life.

The lucky loser format sees the highest-seeded losing team from the qualifying weekend progress to the semi-final alongside the three winners.

Though the Blues were beaten in their qualifier in Christchurch, they advance due to the Reds and Brumbies, who finished fifth and sixth respectively, also losing.

“We finished fourth, so in any other competition, I think fourth means it’s a semi-final, doesn’t it? I mean the format, I think in a lot of ways you can criticise it but in lot of ways we think it’s pretty cool. Last year, we finished sixth and beat the number one and then managed to get through that way. I think was what they really wanted, and a little bit of suspense going into these matches.”

However, Cotter knows they will need something special to knock over the Hurricanes who dismantled the Brumbies in last week’s qualifying final.

“They are very complete and we’ve struggled with them. There’s no two ways about it. So this week we just have to find something different.

Typically a team that likes to keep things tight, Cotter hinted at the possibility of implementing a more expansive style against the Canes.

“I think we’re probably just going to try and score and score again, that’s key for us, just to make sure we keep the scoreboard ticking over and try and get as many points as we can, so there might be a little bit of innovation and a little bit of something different out there.”

A frustrating reality for the Blues in 2026 has not been a lack of tries, but leaking too many at the other end.

In their past four matches alone, they have racked up 109 points, but have conceded 194.

“We’re still able to score points, just around that defence to make sure we don’t give them easy opportunities. There’s been a real conscious effort from the boys this week to become better in that area.”

Hoping to add some spark form the back, Cotter has named Beauden Barrett at 15 after sitting out the past two matches with a quad injury.

Copping plenty of criticism for his form this season, Cotter insists the All Black veteran has nothing to prove on Saturday.

“He’s just pleased to be back and he’s brought some real enthusiasm. You can see that as soon as he hops on the field, you can feel the experience. And I reckon he’s gained a couple of metres in speed over this three weeks off as well. He’s looking pretty sharp coming in from fullback.”

Whether or not the Blues deserve to be playing for a spot in the final, their season still has a pulse.

“You don’t have to be the best team in the year, you just have to be the best team for that 80 minutes.”

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