Clarke on rampage as Blues take gold

ALL BLACK Caleb Clarke put in an outstanding threetry showing to steal the headlines as the Blues won their first Super Rugby title for 21 years in mesmeric fashion.

- LUKE JARMYN

Predictions of a tight contest were brushed away by the Auckland side’s forward dominance, while Clarke’s hattrick, with the winger’s power running, guile and clinical execution with the ball in hand proving pivotal. It led to jubilant scenes at a rain-soaked Eden Park, with Blues victory over Chiefs on home soil ending a barren spell going back to 2003.

It was a personal triumph for Clarke, who’s followed in his father Eroni’s footsteps by scoring a try for the Blues in a winning Super Rugby final, and the tearful winger said: “That was a tough one, we had so many boys step up for the big occasion. To finally get the job done, for the whole Blues region, and we’re just all really happy.

“I’m super proud, and it means a lot not just to my family but so many other families that back the boys week in, week out, and it wasn’t just us as a 23 alone, we had a whole tribe behind us.