The Blues beat the Hurricanes 38-31 in a pre-season match in Mangatainoka on Saturday.

The Blues did well to fight back from 14-0 down to go into half-time level at 14-14.

They then dominated the third quarter of the match to take a 38-19 lead, with veteran centre Ma’a Nonu scoring a try and wing Melani Nanai grabbing a double.

The Hurricanes were the better team in the final 20 minutes, but ultimately left themselves with too much to do.

‘Probably the most pleasing thing was we were 14-0 down and defended our line for a long period of time and ended up exiting out of there,’ said Blues coach Leon MacDonald. ‘You know, 21-0 is a long way to come back from, so that was a critical moment where we showed a lot of grit on the line.’

Hurricanes coach John Plumtree rued his team’s inability to turn field possession into points.

‘We created some opportunities, but we also had some opportunities to put them under the pump, which we didn’t nail.

Blues – Tries – Melani Nanai (2), Leni Apisai, Hoskins Sotutu, Ma’a Nonu, Harry Plummer. Conversions: Otere Black (3), Stephen Perofeta.
Hurricanes –Tries: James Blackwell, Ben Lam, Asafo Aumua, Ben May, Wes Goosen. Conversions: Fletcher Smith (2), Jackson Garden-Bachop.

Photo: Mark Tantrum/Getty Images