Gutsy defence enabled the Blues to come away with a hard-fought 17-13 win over the Force in Perth, according to SARugbymag.co.za's Opta-powered stats.

In a low-quality encounter on Saturday, the Blues had their defence to thank for a much-needed victory. In the first half, the visitors had just 35% of possession, but they kept the Force tryless and pounced on nine turnovers to establish a 17-3 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Blues’ discipline let them down as their penalty count rose to 14, but they managed to repeatedly repel the Force. Overall, the New Zealand side had to make 148 tackles compared to 95, but both sides missed the same number of tackles (14).

The Blues’ loose trio of Steven Luatua, Tanerau Latimer and Jerome Kaino did a lot of work on defence, making 33 tackles between them and missing just four.

See how your favourite player fared in this match

Photo: Stefan Gosatti/Getty Images