A lost kick for contact, with only the remaining seconds deprived the champions of a last chance to steal the victory, the chiefs calmly closing another pulsating game of the Super Rugby Pacific 2025.
The chiefs began their scoring in an exciting style, a stupendous Shaun Stevenson discharging the back door, sending Daniel Rona to the opening.
A Pyrouetting Damian McKenzie scored the second when he took a rebel ball before sliding down the line.
A Telea diving brand brought Blues back shortly before the break, the hosts who kept an advantage of 15 to 12.
It was Tit-For-Tat in the second forty, the first Corey Evans cutting the blues, soon followed by Tupou Vaa’i, stretching a member to plant it in the chalk.
Leadership changes continued, Marcel Renata crashing closely before Cortez Ratima ended an excellent movement triggered by McKenzie within her own half.
After a quiet match, Reiko Ioane was the beneficiary of a perfect Crosskick by Stephen Perofeta, to crack the rookie Xavi Taele by taking the lead with a side conversion, just for his effort to enter the posts.
Blues had one last kick in the victory after Anton Segner won a penalty with sixty seconds to play, but Perofeta lost the touch to overthrow the curtain in another classic.
