Hooker Ricky Riccitelli has taken full advantage of the Blues' forward dominance for a try double, but his team have barely held off a determined Moana Pasifika 32-19 in their Super Rugby Pacific clash at Mt Smart Stadium.
The scoreline probably doesn't do justice to how close the home side came to snatching their second victory in four days, as they battled their crosstown rivals to a standstill over the final 20 minutes.
Trailling 19-5 at the break, Moana Pasifika scored through debutant prop Abraham Pole soon after the restart and had another try disallowed, when hooker Luteru Tolai was ruled guilty of a double movement over the line.
That try converted would have brought the competition newcomers on level terms with their more storied rivals. Instead, moments later, Blues captain Luke Romano extended the margin with a try at the other end.
Moana Pasifika were now 12 points astray, when Blues prop Nepo Laulala was shown a red card for a shoulder tackle to the head of centre Fine Inisi, his team were a man down for 20 minutes, until they could replace him.
First-five Lincoln McClutchie engineered a spectacular try, when he cross-kicked from an attacking lineout and winger Tomasi Alosio out jumped Blues fullback Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepens to score, with McClutchie's conversion from near touch, bringing his team within five points.
Incredibly, the Blues were not required to pack a scrum during all but the final few seconds of Laulala's enforced absence, but were still able to impose their forward dominance, when Romano went close again and halfback Finlay Christie ducked over from close range for the decisive try.
"That's just the nature of this competition," Romano told Sky Sport. "The NZ conference has always been tough and Moana are just adding to that.
"They're awesome players, with quality right across the field. There are no easy games, no matter who you're playing.
"It felt like we were playing how we wanted to play, but we let the foot off a bit. You've seen that Moana never give up and never stay down.
"They fought back and had us on the ropes. It was a real credit to our boys that we dug deep after getting the red card, putting our bodies on the line and fighting back."
Neither team were anywhere near full strength for the midweek 'catch-up' game, originally scheduled as their season-opener, but postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Moana Pasifika camp. Facing three games within 11 days, both coaches elected to rest their frontline stars and test their depth.
Riccitelli scored both his tries off patented lineout mauls in the first half, while counterpart Tolai almost a double too, denied by the double-movement call.
The Blues will host Moana Pasifika on Saturday at Eden Park.
Blues 32 (Tua, Romano, Christie & Riccitelli 2 tries; Perofeta 2 conversions & penalty) Moana Pasifika 19 (Tolai, Alosio & Pole tries; McClutchie 2 conversions)
Join us at 7pm Saturday for live updates of the Blues v Moana Pasifika Super Rugby Pacific clash
