The Blues first five and fullback combination of Beauden Barrett and Stephen Perofeta had their best outing yet as they combined for five try assists in the 53-26 thumping of the Queensland Reds.
The damaging pair came up with one of the best of the night on Barrett’s try, with the Blues’ No 10 breaking the line directly from a set-piece run before he linked with halfback Finlay Christie.
After the Reds’ backfield were drawn in to make the tackle on Bryce Heem, Perofeta calmly grubber kicked in behind the line for Barrett to chase where he had no one in sight to stop him from scoring.
Perfection 🤩
Too good @BluesRugbyTeam 🙌#BLUvRED #SuperRugbyPacific pic.twitter.com/BeThaEvSKE
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) May 14, 2022
Whilst that may have been the play of the night, the pair also had a unique trick play from the restart that caught the attention of this one fan on Twitter, who claimed that this ‘has not been seen before’.
The smart kickoff allowed the Blues to regain possession through Caleb Clarke who was able to jump up and catch an uncontested ball.
Never seen a restart quite like this before. Very effective by Stephen Perofeta and Beauden Barrett #BLUvRED #SuperRugbyPacific pic.twitter.com/JdibpxUcNk
— MW Home PT (@MWHomePT) May 14, 2022
With the forwards lined up to the right, Perfoeta set up to take the drop kick but when the whistle sounded, he slipped the ball behind him to Barrett who caught the Reds team by surprise by chipping the ball out to the left and into the arms of the waiting Caleb Clarke, perfectly placed on the 10-metre line.
“We saw a little opportunity there and we took it,” Barrett said with a wry smile after the match while crediting backs coach Dan Halangahu with the idea.
The 30-year-old All Black star has found some of his best Super Rugby form in recent weeks and has the Blues clicking ‘like the 2000s’.
On the night Barrett finished with three try assists and his one try scored from the Perofeta grubber.
