Chiefs put an end to Blues' season of woe

Mils Muliaina side-steps Jerome Kaino with plenty of Chief support in hand. Phil Walter / Getty Images

Chiefs 30 Blues 9

The Chiefs finished their Super 14 rugby season with a flourish with a flattering 30-9 win over arch-rivals the Blues at Auckland's Eden Park today.

The three tries to none victory was the Hamilton-based franchise's third consecutive win over the Blues and their seventh of the season to leave them just outside the top-four.

Having upset the Waratahs last weekend, it showed what could have been for the Chiefs who might lose captain Jonno Gibbes, David Hill and prop Deacon Manu who are reportedly eyeing overseas contracts.

For the talent-laden Blues, just returned from South Africa, it was a flat end to another disappointing Super 14 season which saw them finish in the bottom half of the table.

The final score wasn't an accurate reflection of an even contest which was locked 6-6 at halftime and saw the Chiefs lead 16-9 with 15 minutes left.

A try to one of the Chiefs' best, All Blacks halfback Byron Kelleher, then an intercept touchdown five minutes from fulltime to replacement Sosene Anesi, put an end to the Blues' misery.

Heavy rain had soaked Eden Park and made for plenty of turnovers with the greasy ball and minimal free-flowing attacks as both teams tried to keep the other pinned back with kicks.

The Blues' forwards looked to have the better of their opposites in the first half but ill-discipline again cost them in an even 40 minutes.

All Blacks lock Ali Williams was penalised twice and given a final warning by referee Kelvin Deaker for two high tackles within five minutes of each other.

The first, a late shoulder charge, left Kelleher lying dazed on the ground and the second chopped down Steven Bates.

Both sides had tryscoring chances in the first half but couldn't finish off as goalkickers Hill and Luke McAlister traded two penalties for a 6-6 halftime deadlock.

After McAlister put the hosts in front 9-6 with his third penalty, the Blues' defence was the first to crack in the 53rd minute when Hill waltzed over to score under the posts.

A solid hit-up from Mark Ranby, in his final match before departing for Japan, set up a ruck 10m from the Blues line and Hill dummied inside to Sitiveni Sivivatu before crossing the line untouched.

At 16-9 and the Chiefs starting to recycle quicker ball the match was set up for a tense final quarter, and it was Kelleher who finally broke the Blues' resolve 12 minutes from time.

At a scrum 30m from the Blues' line Kelleher muscled through, burst clear and passed to Sivivatu who was hauled down within 1m of the goalline.

From the ruck Kelleher picked up and darted over beside the posts, giving Hill another simple conversion to stretch the lead to a handy 14 points.

With the Blues needing quick points, Anesi latched onto an ambitious Isa Nacewa pass and the former top Samoan junior sprinter raced 50m to score.

Gibbes said it was important to sign off on a high despite the pain of already missing the playoffs.

"We felt that it wasn't going to be easy coming up here but it was important to back up our Waratahs performance," he told Sky TV.

"The spirit that we showed tonight... it was a real bruiser out there. We took our chances in the second half, we got a bit of momentum, it was a fantastic result."

Blues captain Keven Mealamu was succinct in his assessment.

"My boys played well but at the end of the day we didn't have enough petrol in the tank."

Chiefs 30 (David Hill, Byron Kelleher, Sosene Anesi tries; Hill 3 pen, 3 con)
Blues 9 (Luke McAlister 3 pen).
HT: 6-6.

- NZPA