John Mulvihill has pointed the finger at his players for failing to follow the game plan after they became the first team in the Guinness Pro 14 to lose to the Toyota Cheetahs.
The Blues coach was also left frustrated by what he felt was a wrong decision by referee Lloyd Linton he claimed titled the game away from the visitors in South Africa.
But most of the Australian’s anger was directed at his own side who have now lost the momentum created by four successive victories with back-to-back defeats.
“After the first 10 minutes the score was 10-7 so our learning is if we have a game plan that we stick to it for 80 minutes,” said Mulvihill.
“We prepared really well to keep the ball in play, our first four kicks went out and they had four line-outs.
“They are a very structured team, they play a lot off their line-out, they have big carriers, they drive a lot and we gave them their strength where we needed to take it away.
“The possession and territory was about the same, we only gave away seven penalties and if you have a look at their three tries two of them came from when we were in possession of the ball.”
But Mulvihill was also critical of Linton for allowing Cheetahs a try after a driving maul by the Blues was turned over for a breakaway try.
“The try just before half-time, our driving maul to score… there is no way the guy with the ball came from an onside position.
“It was clearly the wrong decision and that’s a 14-point turnaround. We should have been there 14-10 not 21-3.”
Despite their name, the Cheetahs have hardly been the fastest team out of the blocks this season but they had too much running power for the pedestrian Blues.
Wing Sibhale Maxwane scorted two tries and scrum-half Shaun Venter scored the other and by the time Samu Manoa managed a reply for the Blues it was far too late.
The Blues next play Zebre at home on Sunday November 4, before away trips to Glasgow and Ulster.
