Blues captain Rhys Williams also scored a brace, and if he can steer his side to a win over either Perpignan or Leeds in Rounds 5 and 6, he will find his side in the final eight of Europe’s elite club rugby competition.
The crowd-attracting Jonah Lomu had a steady if not eye catching match, however the 11,764 that turned up were not complaining; it was the biggest crowd at the famous venue for over five years. But the home fans were momentarily silenced just eight seconds into the match when Calvisano inside centre Hercules Kruger notched the game’s opening penalty.
The Italians dominated the opening exchanges, but fell behind after 10 minutes. Lomu drove forward, found a pass to Jamie Robinson who fed Rush, and the former All Black went over in the corner. Jamie’s younger brother Nicky added a tough conversion.
A Marc Stcherbina break gave Robinson the chance to add three points, and the Blues took control of the match when skipper Williams glided through a huge gap in the defence to give his side a 15-3 lead. Nicky Robinson missed the conversion but made amends with a clever break that resulted in Rush’s second try after 26 minutes.
Calvisano fullback Jacobus van Schalkwyk began a mini Calvisano fightback with a well-taken try in the corner, but the Blues took a 22-8 lead into the break, and secured their bonus point on the hour mark when Williams touched down in the right-hand corner.
Blues lock Craig Quinnell crashed over for his side’s fifth try, before the full blooded match boiled over in injury time and Martyn Williams and Matteo Pratichetti found themselves in the sin-bin.
