Four-tries-to-two and a 24-15 scoreline suggests the Blues recorded a largely comfortable win over the visiting Force. It was not. The Blues even managed to blow the bonus point at the death as Dane Haylett-Petty ran in an all-too-easy try.

The Blues were average at best. They showed limited patience. They threw unnecessary offloads. Their lineout was scrappy; option taking poor. They kept the Force, a gallant but very limited Australia team, in the match for the best part of 70 minutes, when really but for some semblance of execution and continuity the visitors should have been put away early in the second spell.