Blues 56 Lions 14
Five-eighths Stephen Brett got only 20 minutes' warning he would start for the Blues against the Lions yesterday.
Understudy Daniel Kirkpatrick strained his thigh practising his goalkicking and had to withdraw from his starting debut for the tourists in Johannesburg.
Brett's reintroduction was awkward as he was struggling with a sore knee, but he kitted up to score a try and kicked nine from 10 shots at goal for a personal haul of 26 points. His solitary miss sheared off the upright.
Victory for the Blues was non-negotiable. The Lions, winless in this series, had shown little ability to concentrate for entire matches.
Sure enough. They had moments when they clicked before halftime as one-time Blues fullback Carlos Spencer darted across for two tries.
Beyond that interval, the Lions became much more disjointed with the Blues able to slam seven tries past their modest defence before referee Mark Lawrence ended the slaughter.
The win gave the Blues a lift for their journey home and their final assignment against the Chiefs at Eden Park on Saturday. After that last round of games the Blues could scrape up to sixth place in the table or slip to ninth in what has been another mediocre season.
Those scenarios were shifted aside as the Blues celebrated a return to the winner's circle and coach Pat Lam delivered some expansive praise for his senior five-eighths.
"I thought he was outstanding," Lam said.
"He mixed it well, gave us good territory, different kicking options, ran when he needed to, scored a good try and took it to the line."
The Blues created an array of new statistics after Benson Stanley opened up the defences in the fourth minute for Rene Ranger to score.
Hooker Tom McCartney scored his first try for the Blues, on TMO evidence, before he was later replaced by usual tighthead prop John Afoa. For some reason Joe Rokocoko threw the ball away in disgust after scoring while another nominated sub, Anthony Tuitavake, did not kit up after reinjuring his groin.
Rokocoko scored his ninth try of the series without looking ultra-sharp on his sore right knee, Isaia Toeava had some nifty moments while Alby Mathewson was sharp and notched another try. The pack stayed on task while Lam gave the side a rev after some sloppy first-half defence.
There was a strong response. The Blues added 32 unanswered points as they cranked up the pace and precision in their work.
McCartney left the field with an ankle problem and the Blues may have to think about using Afoa in the No 2 jersey again this week.
