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Senior prop Charlie Faumuina has been ruled out for the season as the Blues contemplate a troubled buildup to their next clash with the Hurricanes.
Backup halfback Bryn Hall broke his jaw and lock Liaki Moli injured a knee ligament in weekend club rugby while wing George Moala is banned for his high shot on Highlanders wing Buxton Popoali'i. Waisake Naholo is likely to get Moala's role.
Faumuina has torn his calf muscle and with forecasts about his return as long as 14 weeks, the Blues have decided to replace him rather than risk a recurrence if they pushed his recovery.
Those dramas were balanced by the side's 29-18 victory against the Highlanders when former skipper Keven Mealamu returned from his sabbatical and halfback Piri Weepu hinted at his top form.
"He's heading that way. He was a month behind in his training but is match fit now and ready to play his best," coach John Kirwan said.
Others like midfield back Jackson Willison had come in and done a fine job on defence with 18 tackles while his communication was a huge asset.
There were set piece issues to sort out but Mealamu's experience would help as it had against the Highlanders.
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"He came on at a critical moment and we got out of a situation where we were under the pump about a penalty try," Kirwan said.
The Blues' aim was a repeat success on Saturday at Eden Park before a rest for their second bye.
"We need to go to our break with two wins out of three in this little patch, so we can stay on the others' coat tails," Kirwan said.
Victory against the Highlanders had steadied their self-esteem. They started poorly but picked it up and needed more of that rhythm against the Hurricanes. "They play closer to our style than anyone else and enjoy running from most parts of the field. Their win against the Waratahs was a great result. They are such a threat if they get any turnovers and if you relax on defence they will hurt you," Kirwan said.
The 'Canes had an arsenal of attacking threats with men like Julian Savea, captain Conrad Smith and Andre Taylor and had shown they could compete up front even with a number of players out injured.
Emotional debut for Savea family
It was hard to tell which Savea brother was better as the Hurricanes picked apart the Waratahs 41-29 at the Cake Tin.
Julian scored two of the Hurricanes four tries in the bonus-point victory, while debutant flanker Ardie proved the hype around him is justified with an impressive first-up display at this level. His support play was impressive, his work-rate was immense and Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett said it was a top display from the young tyro.
"They're a special family," Hammett said. "Julian presented Ardie with his jersey today before the game so it was an emotional, proud moment."
-Daniel Richardson
Prattley called in to replace Faumuina
Auckland prop Sam Prattley has been called into the Blues' squad to replace Charlie Faumuina who has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
With Faumuina expected to be out of action for up to 14 weeks with a torn calf muscle, the Blues have taken the conservative approach to replace him, rather than risk a recurrence if they rush him back too soon.
Blues' head coach Sir John Kirwan said it was a major blow to lose someone of Faumuina's calibre for the season but it was in the best interests of both Faumuina and the team to replace him.
"Team doctor Stephen Kara said best-case scenario for Faumuina returning was eight weeks but the worst-case scenario was 14 weeks. I think if we tried to rush Charlie back, he's the type of guy that wants to help the team out so he'd push hard to get back and possibly to the detriment of his long-term career," Kirwan said.
"He needs to get on top of this injury so keeping the team in mind and Charlie's future in mind we've decided to replace him.
"He's still going to be with us and we want to get him back as quickly as we can, but unfortunately the rules state that if you replace a player he can't come back for the season so that's a tough call but Charlie was understanding and wants to try and get back to 100 per cent so that's his main goal."
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Prattley, 23, recently signed a two-year contract with Auckland after playing three seasons for Tasman and has been called in to replace Faumuina.
A former New Zealand Under-17 and Under-20 representative, Prattley spent two seasons in the Crusaders wider training group and said he was thrilled to get the call-up from the Blues.
"I'm really excited about the opportunity but also pretty nervous joining the team for the first time this morning," Prattley said.
"It's always been a goal of mine to step up to Super Rugby level and was one of the motivating factors in me making the move up to Auckland so I'm really looking forward to the getting stuck in."
Kirwan said he was happy to welcome Prattley into the fold.
"Sam played well for the Blues' development team so we're happy to have him on board. He's one of those raw-boned, tough and rugged players who covers both sides of the scrum so that's a real positive for us."
Backup halfback Bryn Hall broke his jaw and lock Liaki Moli injured a knee ligament in weekend club rugby while wing George Moala is banned for his high shot on Highlanders wing Buxton Popoali'i. Waisake Naholo is likely to get Moala's role.
Faumuina has torn his calf muscle and with forecasts about his return as long as 14 weeks, the Blues have decided to replace him rather than risk a recurrence if they pushed his recovery.
Those dramas were balanced by the side's 29-18 victory against the Highlanders when former skipper Keven Mealamu returned from his sabbatical and halfback Piri Weepu hinted at his top form.
"He's heading that way. He was a month behind in his training but is match fit now and ready to play his best," coach John Kirwan said.
Others like midfield back Jackson Willison had come in and done a fine job on defence with 18 tackles while his communication was a huge asset.
There were set piece issues to sort out but Mealamu's experience would help as it had against the Highlanders.
<SCRIPT language=javascript type=text/javascript>aimRenderAd(300, 250, 'RECTANGLE','ContentRect','/SR=1/POS=2');if(!$.browser.msie){ContentRect_frame = $("#ContentRect")[0];ContentRect_frame.src = ContentRect_frame.src;}</SCRIPT>
"He came on at a critical moment and we got out of a situation where we were under the pump about a penalty try," Kirwan said.
The Blues' aim was a repeat success on Saturday at Eden Park before a rest for their second bye.
"We need to go to our break with two wins out of three in this little patch, so we can stay on the others' coat tails," Kirwan said.
Victory against the Highlanders had steadied their self-esteem. They started poorly but picked it up and needed more of that rhythm against the Hurricanes. "They play closer to our style than anyone else and enjoy running from most parts of the field. Their win against the Waratahs was a great result. They are such a threat if they get any turnovers and if you relax on defence they will hurt you," Kirwan said.
The 'Canes had an arsenal of attacking threats with men like Julian Savea, captain Conrad Smith and Andre Taylor and had shown they could compete up front even with a number of players out injured.
Emotional debut for Savea family
It was hard to tell which Savea brother was better as the Hurricanes picked apart the Waratahs 41-29 at the Cake Tin.
Julian scored two of the Hurricanes four tries in the bonus-point victory, while debutant flanker Ardie proved the hype around him is justified with an impressive first-up display at this level. His support play was impressive, his work-rate was immense and Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett said it was a top display from the young tyro.
"They're a special family," Hammett said. "Julian presented Ardie with his jersey today before the game so it was an emotional, proud moment."
-Daniel Richardson
Prattley called in to replace Faumuina
Auckland prop Sam Prattley has been called into the Blues' squad to replace Charlie Faumuina who has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
With Faumuina expected to be out of action for up to 14 weeks with a torn calf muscle, the Blues have taken the conservative approach to replace him, rather than risk a recurrence if they rush him back too soon.
Blues' head coach Sir John Kirwan said it was a major blow to lose someone of Faumuina's calibre for the season but it was in the best interests of both Faumuina and the team to replace him.
"Team doctor Stephen Kara said best-case scenario for Faumuina returning was eight weeks but the worst-case scenario was 14 weeks. I think if we tried to rush Charlie back, he's the type of guy that wants to help the team out so he'd push hard to get back and possibly to the detriment of his long-term career," Kirwan said.
"He needs to get on top of this injury so keeping the team in mind and Charlie's future in mind we've decided to replace him.
"He's still going to be with us and we want to get him back as quickly as we can, but unfortunately the rules state that if you replace a player he can't come back for the season so that's a tough call but Charlie was understanding and wants to try and get back to 100 per cent so that's his main goal."
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Prattley, 23, recently signed a two-year contract with Auckland after playing three seasons for Tasman and has been called in to replace Faumuina.
A former New Zealand Under-17 and Under-20 representative, Prattley spent two seasons in the Crusaders wider training group and said he was thrilled to get the call-up from the Blues.
"I'm really excited about the opportunity but also pretty nervous joining the team for the first time this morning," Prattley said.
"It's always been a goal of mine to step up to Super Rugby level and was one of the motivating factors in me making the move up to Auckland so I'm really looking forward to the getting stuck in."
Kirwan said he was happy to welcome Prattley into the fold.
"Sam played well for the Blues' development team so we're happy to have him on board. He's one of those raw-boned, tough and rugged players who covers both sides of the scrum so that's a real positive for us."
