Chiefs blow Blues away
The Chiefs struck an early psychological blow when they beat the Blues 41-20 in a Super Rugby pre-season clash in Whangarei on Thursday.
The Blues host the Chiefs in Albany on Saturday, February 14 - in Week One of this year's Super Rugby.
The Blues opened up the trial with a penalty to their flyhalf Ihaia West.
The Chiefs replied with a try to loose forward Johan Bardoul.
West added another three points with a penalty to give the Blues a 6-5 lead, which they maintained until the end of the first quarter.
The Chiefs picked up the pace with a 19-point haul in the second quarter - which they started with a pick-'n-go try scored by prop Ben Tameifuna. Damian McKenzie successfully converted the try as the much needed rain in Northland halted.
Scrumhalf Brad Weber added to the scoreboard when he crossed the line after an impressive lead-in with a large number of the team handling the ball. McKenzie added the extra points with his boot.
Wing James Lowe had the final say of the second spell with a try near the end of the fast paced quarter - leaving the scoreboard 24-6 in the Chiefs' favour.
A driving maul try by the Blues and a conversion by Simon Hickey kicked off the third quarter, but the Chiefs quickly bounced back and were hot on attack. They missed a try opportunity, but claimed three points with a penalty to extend their lead to 27-13.
A few handling errors crept into the third quarter as the two sides traded possession till the whistle blew.
Chiefs loose forward Tevita Koloamatangi dotted down first in the final quarter to extend the Chiefs lead to 34-13, after a conversion by Marty McKenzie.
After a turnover with numbers out wide Chiefs wing James Lowe crossed for his second try of the match, this time under the post with McKenzie converting it to give the visitors a 41-13 lead.
With less than two minutes on the clock Simon Hickey scored for the Blues and converted the try to reduce the deficit to just over 20 points.
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie was satisfied with their first trial of the year.
"Considering it was our first hit-out, we were pretty happy," Rennie said.
"We played a real positive brand of footy with good continuity," the coach added.
The Chiefs head across the Tasman to play the Waratahs next Friday.
The Chiefs season officially kicks off on Saturday, February 14, against the Blues at North Harbour Stadium - with the Chiefs first home game the following week on Friday, February 20 in New Plymouth against the Brumbies.
For the Blues
Tries: Luatua, Hickey
Cons: Hickey 2
Pens: West 2
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Bardoul, Tameifuna, Weber, Lowe 2, Koloamatangi
Cons: D McKenzie 2, M McKenzie 2
Pen: M McKenzie
Teams:
Blues: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Ben Lam, 13 George Moala, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Joe Edwards, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Angus Ta'avo, 2 Matt Moulds, 1 Sam Prattley.
Replacements - from: Nic Mayhew, James Parsons, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Culum Retallick, Tom Murday, Blake Gibson, Simon Hickey, Hamish Northcott, Greg Pleasants-Tate, Jamison Gibson-Park, Matt McGahan, Dan Bowden, Matt Vaega, Pita Akhi, Brynn Hall, Frank Halai, Melani Nanai, Will Lloyd, Jack Ram.
Chiefs: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 James Lowe, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Maa'ma Vaipulu, 7 Sean Polwart, 6 Johan Bardoul, 5 Michael Fitzgerald, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Quentin McDonald, 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Replacements - from: Michael Allardice, Tim Bond, Rhys Marshall, Siate Tokolahi, Mitchell Graham, Josh Dowsing, Tevita Koloamatangi, Kayne Hammington, Marty McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brow.
Referee: Mike Fraser