Blues coach Leon MacDonald is lauding a "special" win over the Hurricanes, which ends a 25-game losing road record against New Zealand opposition which stretched back to 2013.
The Blues moved to third in the New Zealand conference after beating the Hurricanes 24-15 at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
The win also broke the Blues' five-year losing streak against the Hurricanes.
MacDonald praised his side's fighting spirit due to their very short turnaround for the match having just arrived home from a two-match tour of South Africa.
"Every win is a tough one and to win away for against the Canes is special coming off a trip to South Africa," said MacDonald.
"It wasn't pretty, both teams would say that, but they showed a lot of heart being players down and we showed heart given our travel schedule. It was an old school arm-wrestle."
Although the Blues snapped a long losing streak, MacDonald admitted there wasn't much celebrating in the changing sheds.
The guys have had a tough week… It's quite a subdued changing shed as lots of the guys are spent.
"They're tired and usually a win is worth a big celebration, but they just want to lie on the ground."
The Blues next face the struggling Lions in their next match at Eden Park, and while it will be good to back playing in front of their home crowd, Auckland hasn't been a happy hunting round for them this season.
The Blues have yet to win at home in 2020, and all their wins have come on the road, equaling an away winning streak from 1997.
MacDonald knows his side still has plenty to improve on.
"We've taken a lot of pride in our defence. Tana has done a great job there and building a real identity.
"Although our game wasn't perfect, we hung in there and we were able to strike back late in the second half. We take heart and pride that we were able to hang in there."
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