Blues vs Rebels

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 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.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Shocked into action after conceding two tries in the first five minutes, the Auckland-based Blues scored 11 tries of their own ...

They trailed 12-10 at halftime in Brisbane but managed to work their way back into the match and took control in the second half. Throughout the season, their success has been based on building substantial leads, then holding on in the second half. In the other match, the Dunedin-based Highlanders made it two wins for New Zealand teams over Australian opponents with a 27-19 victory.

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