Blues blow bumbling Brumbies away
The result has put a massive dent in the Brumbies' play-off aspirations – leaving the door open for the Waratahs to claim top spot in the Aussie conference and will see the Brumbies drop out of the top eight (qualifying positions).
The Brumbies entered the match level with the Waratahs on 39 points at the top of the Australian conference and desperate to claw ahead of their rivals.
They now need the Waratahs to stumble in one of their final two regular-season matches to have any hope of winning the conference and gaining an automatic home finals berth.
The Blues scored three tries to one in a blistering opening quarter and that despite being a man down for half of that period.
The Brumbies could not come back from that and looked rattled in the face of the Blues' skilful, high-paced game.
They looked toothless in attack, relying heavily on line-out drives, and captain Stephen Moore said he was disappointed with the way they started a crucial match.
"We gave them too many points early, we fell off too many tackles, allowed them to offload – [it is] just not good enough," he said.
The Blues, already out of finals contention, played like a side with nothing to lose, throwing the ball around with abandon.
Jerome Kaino was a massive presence but captain Jamie Parsons said the club's young talent was also emerging as the three-time champions rebuild following some lean years.
"We set a goal at the start of the season to restore a bit of pride in the Blues club," he said.
"We haven't done it completely yet but it's definitely a step closer."
The result means the Blues have won 13 of their last 15 matches against Australian Super Rugby sides at Eden Park.
They can play spoiler for the Australian conference again next week, when they host the Waratahs at the same venue.
The Brumbies conceded a try within four minutes when Ihaia West's kick found Kaino unmarked out wide.
Parsons scored the Blues' second three minutes later after a well-worked line-out move, leaving the stunned Brumbies down 14-0 after Piers Francis added the extras.
The Australians hit back when referee Ben O'Keeffe awarded them a penalty after Kaino collapsed a maul that had travelled 20 metres, earning himself a yellow card.
The Blues continued to attack despite his absence, throwing the ball around with abandon to earn a third try through the unlikely form of prop Sam Prattley.
Duffie added their fourth after Steven Luatua's strong run set him up, virtually sealing the win with only 20 minutes on the clock.
A Matt Toomua try and Christian Leali'ifano penalty narrowed the gap to 28-15 at half time.
But Kaino reasserted the Blues' dominance just after the break, crossing from a line-out drive and Duffie added the Aucklanders' sixth in the dying minutes.
Man of the match: You can look at the Blues' hot-stepping outside backs – Melani Nanai, Matt Duffie and Tevita Li, or the powerful midfielders – Male Sa'u and Piers Francis. You can even throw flyhalf Ihaia West into the hat. However, the real damage was done up front – where the likes of Steven Luatua, James Parsons and our man of the match Jerome Kaino (despite his yellow card) were the most physically damaging.
The scorers:
For the Blues:
Tries: Kaino 2, Parsons, Prattley, Duffie 2
Cons: Francis 5
For the Brumbies:
Tries: Penalty try, Toomua
Cons: Lealiifano
Pens: Lealiifano
Yellow card: Jerome Kaino (Blues, 11 – cynical foul, collapsing the maul near the tryline)
Teams:
Blues: 15 Melani Nanai, 14 Matt Duffie, 13 Male Sa'u, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Kara Pryor, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 2 James Parsons (captain), 1 Sam Prattley.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 20 Blake Gibson, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Matt Vaega, 23 Lolagi Visinia.
Brumbies: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Nigel Ah Wong, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 James Dargaville, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Blake Enever, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Joe Powell, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Lausii Taliauli.
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand), Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
