Blues

The Blues notch up 70 points in a try-scoring festival against the hapless Rebels at Eden Park.

App users click here for latest updates. Blues 71 Rebels 28. Blues - A Ioane 2, R Ioane 3, Perofeta, Telea, Sotutu, Tucker, Clarke & Christie tries, ...

The Blues overcame a horror start against the Rebels to put on a thrilling display of free-flowing rugby to claim their 10th straight win of the season.

Stephen Perofeta, who had a hand in creating multiple tries in the first half, converted all but one of the tries in the opening 40 minutes to give the Blues a resounding 47-14 lead at the break. After settling the ball on their 10-metre line off the restart, the Blues worked the ball to the middle of the field with Ofa Tuungafasi making the initial break. After falling behind, the Blues managed to spark their comeback just three minutes later on the back of a Kurt Eklund linebreak in the middle of the field which finished with Akira Ioane touching down in the right corner.

The Blues scored seven tries in the first half on Friday night to race to an unassailable 47-14 lead, with All Blacks back-rower Akira Ioane terrorising the Rebels to bag a double. And they did it without star All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett, who was ...

"When we were in Aussie that wasn't a performance that we wanted," he said. The winger pulled off a spectacular dive to plant the ball in the corner, with superboot Perofeta missing just one conversion in the half. While the Blues went into the match on top of the ladder with just one loss, the Rebels were in eighth place with a hopeful eye on the finals.

The Blues have thumped the Melbourne Rebels 71-28 at Eden Park in Auckland to stay at the top of Super Rugby Pacific.

Rieko Ioane matched his brother with his second try in the 51st minute and then went one better, completing his hat-trick in the 63rd minute for a 66-14 scoreline. The winger pulled off a spectacular dive to plant the ball in the corner with superboot Perofeta missing just one conversion in the half. The Blues scored seven tries in the first half on Friday night to race to an unassailable 47-14 lead, with All Blacks back-rower Akira Ioane terrorising the Rebels to bag a double.

The flying No 14 scores a simply stunning effort against the Rebels, putting an exclamation mark on a team try with an acrobatic finish.

Telea’s try was made all the more remarkable by the quality of the Blues’ build-up play. Like elite athletes at their peak, our sports journalists are highly trained in the art of news. So we're asking you to support us with more than your attention.

The Blues returned to ruthless ways with an embarrassing rout of the Melbourne Rebels.

Yet they still managed four tries to two. Others, though, were clinically executed – Rieko Ioane's hat-trick one example after he hit a superb line at pace from a perfectly timed Stephen Perofeta short ball. Records were threatened and credibility took a serious hit as the Blues returned to ruthless ways with an embarrassing rout of the Melbourne Rebels on Friday night.

After Ioane scored a second try five minutes later, Finlay Christie, James Tucker, Hoskins Sotutu and Rieko Ioane all got scoring credits for some superb team ...

The Blues continued to score at a rate of a point a minute from there with Perofeta touching down before Rieko Ioane earned a hat-trick. The Rebels did well to stop the bleeding for the first 10 minutes after the break, however a dropped ball on halfway allowed the Ioane brothers to shine with Akira collecting a lucky bounce to streak into the Rebels’ 22 before Rieko finished for his second in the left corner. Stephen Perofeta, who had a hand in creating multiple tries in the first half, converted all but one of the tries in the opening 40 minutes to give the Blues a resounding 47-14 lead at the break. After settling the ball on their 10 metre line off the restart, the Blues worked the ball to the middle of the field with Ofa Tuungafasi making the initial break. After falling behind, the Blues managed to spark their comeback just three minutes later on the back of a Kurt Eklund linebreak in the middle of the field which finished with Akira Ioane touching down in the right corner. The Blues have dominated the Rebels, producing a brutal display of Rugby to defeat the Rebels 71-28 in the Super Rugby Pacific.

There was one-way traffic at Eden Park on Friday night as the Super Rugby Pacific leaders ran amok.

But the handling by the home forwards, in particular, was a sight to behold, and elevated this as a spectacle. For the Rebels this could be a terminal blow in their quest to sneak into the top eight. But the home side showcased their full array of skills with some superb handling as they ran in two quick tries in a half-dozen minutes to flanker Akira Ioane to level at 14-14 by the 13th minute, and then simply left the visitors in their dust. Like elite athletes at their peak, our sports journalists are highly trained in the art of news. The handling up front was spectacular, while Christie, Rieko Ioane, Telea, Clarke (with one bulldozing 60m run the feature) and Zarn Sullivan had a field day in the open field. Maybe. That 25-0 shutout of the Chiefs in Hamilton was clinical, and the victory the following week against the Crusaders in Christchurch notable.