THE Auckland Blues put on a dazzling display of discipline and ball handling to beat the Natal Sharks 45-21 and clinch the Super 12 rugby union final on Saturday.
Near flawless defence right from the start shut downs the South Africans and the visitors were never allowed to settle.
All Black superstar Jonah Lomu enjoyed an explosive return to form after some indifferent performances in the Super 12 series between teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
Chances for Natal went begging in the first quarter as the side fell into errors of judgment at crucial points. A marked reluctance to swing the ball out wide also proved critical in their loss.
Lomu started the try scoring early in the first half with his now trademark tackle shrugging sprint, easily fending off fullback Andre Joubert to score near the corner.
Lomu later thrilled the packed stadium of 45,000 with a 75 metre run from his 22 after picking up a fumbled Natal ball.
Lomu was within a metre of the tryline when he was finally brought down, but the big winger flicked on to the ever present Adrian Cashmore who dotted down beneath the posts.
Auckland flanker Andrew Blowers did his All Black chances no harm by running in two tries and proving himself more than able on the side of the scrum.
For Natal, outside half Henry Honiball put in a fine performance, but punishing tackling from Auckland quickly poured cold water on any of his initiatives.
Natal got over the initial shock of being down by 20 points to three after just 20 minutes, struggling back with a try from Andre Joubert. Penalty goals from Honiball helped peg the score back to a respectable 20-16 at half time.
Gregor Townsend will lead Scotland in their opening tour match against Wanganui in New Zealand at a floodlit Cooks Park tomorrow.
The game will provide a first experience of captaincy at this level for the talented Northampton stand off.
Townsend, who skippered Scottish Schools in 1990-91 and was also vice captain of Scotland during the Five Nations Championship, is paired with Bath scrum half Andy Nicol.
Although the two have appeared together in a couple of A matches, Nicol is having to adjust to Townsend's new angle of alignment. "Gregor is standing some five metres flatter," said Nicol.
Five players - full back Stuart Lang, hooker Graham Ellis, prop Barry Stewart, lock Scott Murray and flanker Nick Broughton will be making tour debuts.
But despite the inclusion of these five relatively inexperienced players team manager Jim Telfer is satisfied that his side is strong enough to compete well.
"I believe we are putting out a reasonably strong side," he said.
