Super Rugby Pacific: 'Inspirational' captain Patrick Tuipulotu overcomes injury to deliver heroic performance in Blues' final triumph

As he has been all season, skipper Patrick Tuipulotu was the tip of the arrow of the marauding Blues forward pack that rolled over its Chiefs counterparts in Saturday's Super Rugby Pacific finale.

The veteran lock was a colossus among giants for the hosts at Eden Park, where his cohorts up front ground their opposites into the sodden turf with a brutish display of dominance that denied the Chiefs even the faintest sniff of a victory.

Tuipulotu's quintessential captain's knock was made all the more remarkable by a borderline miraculous recovery from a meniscus tear that was originally expected to keep him out of action for up to eight weeks. Instead, just three weeks later, he was holding aloft the Blues' first fully fledged Super Rugby trophy since 2003.

The efforts certainly didn't go unnoticed by Blues coach Vern Cotter, who lavished his captain with praise after the 41-10 shutout.

"He was inspirational for his teammates. His carries and his defence, his lineout and just presence," Cotter said. 

"It was going to be a battle of tight fives and forwards so he was really instrumental in getting us going forward and keeping us going forward and dragging people with him and that's what you want from a leader.

"[Dalton Papali'i] was in there and Rieko [Ioane] finished. This is part of the team that's been so pleasing. It's been everybody pitching in, doing what they can to achieve the objective we started with at the beginning of the season.  

"Great stuff, great leadership, the team's grown, there's maturity there. There's been the desire to win all the way through and... there's been some ups and downs as you'd expect in a season. 

"To be able to see those boys now in the changing shed now with the trophy, to see them finish the game... it has been a long time so I can only say this is just an amazing moment to live and they should enjoy it."

While Caleb Clarke's hat-trick shines brightest on the Blues scoresheet, the match will be remembered for Tuipulotu's heroics in defying serious injury to deliver a performance befitting the occasion.

The 43-test international carried the ball 16 times, beat five defenders - including one memorable break from a restart - while anchoring the Blues' unflappable setpiece and relentless ruck raids. He'll undoubtedly be one of the first names down on Scott Robertson's first All Blacks squad to be revealed on Monday.

Tuipulotu eventually departed to a standing ovation with a little over a quarter remaining, but the damage was already done and the result long secured for the locals.

"Finals are where I wanted to be and pretty gutted I only got through 57 [minutes] or whatever it was," Tuipulotu reflected afterwards.

"The boys were able to do a job... the body's holding up fine.

"It was amazing. Certainly felt the support throughout the whole year... I can't really explain it. It's pretty unreal walking off and a full Eden Park is clapping you off. I don't think many people would get that, so I'm pretty honoured."

Meanwhile, the Chiefs were left to rue a second consecutive heartbreaking conclusion to their Super Rugby Pacific campaign, after being beaten in last year's final.

Coach Clayton McMillan concedes his team were never genuinely in the contest, which makes the result sting that much more.

"Just not our day really," said McMillan. "We barely fired a shot.  

"It was disappointing for the boys who have put in a lot of hard work, disappointing for our fans who toured up state highway one. 

"To go out with a bit of a whimper was disappointing but still incredibly proud of this team.

"Last year's one hurt because we felt like we'd actually fired lots of bullets and did enough to win. This one hurt because we didn't fire any bullets."

As he has been all season, skipper Patrick Tuipulotu was the tip of the arrow of the marauding Blues forward pack that rolled over its Chiefs counterparts in Saturday's Super Rugby Pacific finale.

The veteran lock was a colossus among giants for the hosts at Eden Park, where his cohorts up front ground their opposites into the sodden turf with a brutish display of dominance that denied the Chiefs even the faintest sniff of a victory.

Tuipulotu's quintessential captain's knock was made all the more remarkable by a borderline miraculous recovery from a meniscus tear that was originally expected to keep him out of action for up to eight weeks. Instead, just three weeks later, he was holding aloft the Blues' first fully fledged Super Rugby trophy since 2003.

The efforts certainly didn't go unnoticed by Blues coach Vern Cotter, who lavished his captain with praise after the 41-10 shutout.

"He was inspirational for his teammates. His carries and his defence, his lineout and just presence," Cotter said. 

"It was going to be a battle of tight fives and forwards so he was really instrumental in getting us going forward and keeping us going forward and dragging people with him and that's what you want from a leader.

"[Dalton Papali'i] was in there and Rieko [Ioane] finished. This is part of the team that's been so pleasing. It's been everybody pitching in, doing what they can to achieve the objective we started with at the beginning of the season.  

"Great stuff, great leadership, the team's grown, there's maturity there. There's been the desire to win all the way through and... there's been some ups and downs as you'd expect in a season. 

"To be able to see those boys now in the changing shed now with the trophy, to see them finish the game... it has been a long time so I can only say this is just an amazing moment to live and they should enjoy it."

While Caleb Clarke's hat-trick shines brightest on the Blues scoresheet, the match will be remembered for Tuipulotu's heroics in defying serious injury to deliver a performance befitting the occasion.

The 43-test international carried the ball 16 times, beat five defenders - including one memorable break from a restart - while anchoring the Blues' unflappable setpiece and relentless ruck raids. He'll undoubtedly be one of the first names down on Scott Robertson's first All Blacks squad to be revealed on Monday.

Tuipulotu eventually departed to a standing ovation with a little over a quarter remaining, but the damage was already done and the result long secured for the locals.

"Finals are where I wanted to be and pretty gutted I only got through 57 [minutes] or whatever it was," Tuipulotu reflected afterwards.

"The boys were able to do a job... the body's holding up fine.

"It was amazing. Certainly felt the support throughout the whole year... I can't really explain it. It's pretty unreal walking off and a full Eden Park is clapping you off. I don't think many people would get that, so I'm pretty honoured."

Meanwhile, the Chiefs were left to rue a second consecutive heartbreaking conclusion to their Super Rugby Pacific campaign, after being beaten in last year's final.

Coach Clayton McMillan concedes his team were never genuinely in the contest, which makes the result sting that much more.

"Just not our day really," said McMillan. "We barely fired a shot.  

"It was disappointing for the boys who have put in a lot of hard work, disappointing for our fans who toured up state highway one. 

"To go out with a bit of a whimper was disappointing but still incredibly proud of this team.

"Last year's one hurt because we felt like we'd actually fired lots of bullets and did enough to win. This one hurt because we didn't fire any bullets."

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