KEY POINTS:
The dam finally burst as the Blues surged to 28-9 defeat of the Highlanders in a one-sided Super 14 match in Auckland tonight.
Making a mountain of tackles eventually told on the Highlanders, who led 6-3 at halftime but couldn't withstand the power and pace of a Blues side looking increasingly like title contenders.
Among a handful of stand-out attacking performers, the best was centre Isaia Toeava, who crossed for two of his team's three tries.
As he did in last week's hammering of the Queensland Reds, Toeava linked brilliantly with All Blacks second five-eighth Luke McAlister as the Blues attacked at nearly every opportunity.
They starved the ball from the visitors, who could only register three penalties by World Cup first five-eighth hopeful Nick Evans, playing his first game of the season after injury.
Evans had little chance to show his attacking wares as the Blues retained possession for long periods.
Only the lineout work of James Ryan, the scavenging of flankers Josh Blackie and Alando Soakai and a lop-sided penalty count against the hosts kept the Highlanders within range.
The power and skill of Blues No 8 Jerome Kaino and lock/captain Troy Flavell became increasingly apparent as the game wore on, routinely making breaks and off-loading in tackles.
Yet it was the Highlanders who controlled the opening exchanges, with Evans slotting two penalties against the error-prone Blues.
McAlister replied with one of his own but the score didn't change before halftime, with the Blues coming closest when Toeava was held up over the tryline by tireless Highlanders halfback Jimmy Cowan.
Huge pressure after halftime saw Toeava finally cross for a try although the Blues' lead was short-lived thanks to Evans' third penalty.
Two McAlister penalties gave the hosts an advantage they wouldn't relinquish with 20 minutes remaining and a Highlanders side who made 116 tackles and missed 20 conceded two late tries to Toeava and Flavell.
In further bad news for the Highlanders, winger Craig Clare left the ground with an apparent broken ankle suffered in a first half tackle.
The Blues will remain at the top of the table after registering their fourth win from five games while the Highlanders have a 2-3 winning record.
- NZPA
