AJ Lam of the Blues (L) celebrates his try with Mark Telea. Photo / Getty
AJ Lam of the Blues (L) celebrates his try with Mark Telea. Photo / Getty
Blues 25 Chiefs 0
A defiant shutout in the Tron.
The highlight reels will replay the Blues' length of the field try, sparked from Mark Talea and Rieko Ioane, finished by Beauden Barrett's cross-field kick for Tom Robinson's double, all week.
Yet the essence of the Blues' sixth win in successionthis season, one that includes a valuable bonus point against their neighbourly rivals on Saturday night, was their heart and soul scrambling defence that somehow repeatedly repelled the Chiefs, who were shut out for the first time in their 26-year history.
Three yellow cards the Blues conceded. Three tries the Chiefs were awarded, and then denied.
Reduced to 13 men after yellow cards to Luke Romano and Sam Nock late in the first half, the Blues did not concede a point in that 20-minute period. It defied belief. And it won the Blues the match.
As the Chiefs kept coming, the Blues kept defending.
All Blacks prop Ofa Tuungafasi pulled off a try-saving tackle that encapsulated the Blues' desperate efforts to jolt the ball from Chiefs hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho's grasp over the line, allowing the Blues to retain their 13-0 halftime lead.
Straight after the break Sam Cane ran an obstruction line for Etene Nanai-Seturo's first ruled out try.
Time and again the Blues found a way. Stephen Perofeta rushed up out of the line to make a spot tackle and force a wayward pass from Nanai-Seturo with a man unmarked outside him.
Marcel Renata earned the Blues' third yellow card in the 63rd minute, opening the door for the Chiefs to mount a belated comeback, but they couldn't take advantage. Nanai-Seturo was denied for a second time when three Blues defenders managed to push his elbow into touch.
The Chiefs weren't helped by losing All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown to another shoulder injury in the seventh minute, but they will be left frustrated by their lack of clinical finishing.
Lienert-Brown was in discomfort when he left the field, and could be set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
It wasn't pretty, but this ranks as the Blues' best performance of the year. Holding the Chiefs scoreless in these circumstances is scarcely believable.
AJ Lam of the Blues (L) celebrates his try with Mark Telea. Photo / Getty
The improvement in attitude and composure from their two-win point win over the Chiefs five weeks ago at Eden Park, when Bryn Gatland missed a match-winning penalty, is telling.
The Blues came to fight and were prepared to get in trenches. Their pack led the charge by bringing a ferocious intent to the breakdown. Through their counter-ruck and turnover pressure, they regularly disrupted the Chiefs.
On the back of that largely dominant platform Barrett showcased his game management when the Blues were frequently down on troops to control the pace through his kicking game.
Banking a bonus point through AJ Lam's late try to go atop the table was the perfect way to celebrate captain Dalton Papalii's 50th match, and set up a headline match against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday.
The Chiefs will, conversely, be deflated. While they held on against the Hurricanes in Wellington last week they have now lost back-to-back matches at home to the Crusaders and Blues, suggesting they remain behind those contenders in the quest for this year's title.
The time for some soul searching is now.
Referee Paul Williams dished out four yellow cards - Chiefs loose forward Kaylum Boshier was the first man sent to the bin for his lifting tackle on Josh Goodhue.
The Blues turned down two shots at goal as they attempted to profit from their one-man advantage. After several cracks at the Chiefs, Robinson broke through from a Kurt Eklund inside ball for his first try and Stephen Perofeta's accurate boot quelled the 11,611 locals.
Despite dominating the majority of the first half the Blues dug themselves a hole as halftime edged closer. Romano's rush of blood cost him a card for cynically playing the ball on the ground on his line. Nock, who was a late call-up to start in place of All Blacks halfback Finlay Christie, followed three minutes later for a breakdown infringement.
Everything was stacked in the Chiefs' favour but they could not find a way to convert.
