No.8 Hoskins Sotutu has grabbed a first-half try double, as the Blues offered a glimpse of their Super Rugby Pacific potential, overwhelming top Aussies ACT Brumbies 46-7 at Auckland's Eden Park.
Sotutu's brace catapulted him to the top of the tryscoring rankings, while his team's performance made a mockery of the highly anticipated clash between second and third on the competition table.
Both teams entered the contest with just one loss each this season, but the home side kept their rivals scoreless for more than an hour, threatening to crack 50 points in their biggest-ever win over the team from the Australian capital.
From the kickoff, the Blues impressively compiled 15 phases that took them from their own half into the Brumbies 22, before little knockon ended their progress.
The visitors had the first real scoring chance, when centre Hudson Creighton broke over halfway and sent winger Ollie Sapsford towards the tryline, pulled down short by Blues fullback Cole Forbes.
When halfback Taufa Funaki arrived to snaffle the loose ball, he was deemed offside and yellow-carded for his trouble. Since he prevented a probable try to flanker Rob Valetini, an automatic seven-pointer might have been appropriate.
Instead, from the tapkick, the Blues stole possession and won a penalty to clear their danger zone. Flanker Dalton Papali'i burst from the attacking lineout and entered the Brumbies 22, before Sotutu plunged over to open the scoring.
The Brumbies spurned another kickable penalty for an attacking lineout, but their set move around the front was blocked and the Blues were again able to clear the immediate threat, as Funaki rejoined his teammates.
The visitors made their strategy clear, when they opted for another lineout with their next penalty opportunity, but they again came up emptyhanded, when they were penalised at the breakdown. Those missed opportunities certainly didn't help their cause.
The Blues continued to keep ball in hand, with the forwards taking on their counterparts down the middle of the park and winger Caleb Clarke particularly dangerous down the left. Awarded a penalty near the tryline, they took the scrum option and Clarke ran fullsteam at four defenders to power over.
With halftime looming, Forbes kicked long into the Brumbies 22 and Sapsford made a hash of the skidding ball, presenting one last chance for the Blues before the break.
From another scrum and a couple of phases, hooker Ricky Riccitelli was held up over the line, but with the siren already sounded, Brumbies first-five Noah Lolesio put his goal-line dropout into touch on the full, conceding another attacking scrumfeed to the Blues.
They made no mistake this time, with Sotutu charging over for his second and a 24-0 first-half advantage.
The Brumbies needed to score next and successfully claimed the restart, but muffed a scrum clearance deep in their own territory, and the home side were immediately back on the frontfoot.
From another attacking lineout, the forwards mauled to the tryline and Papali'i spun over for his team's fourth try.
The visitors suffered another blow, when veteran prop James Slipper contacted the head of Blues lock Laghlan McWhannell in a tackle and drew a yellow card.
From the penalty, an attacking lineout ended with prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi knocking on, but the reshuffled Brumbies pack barely controlled the defensive scrum, the ball slipped from the hands of halfback Ryan Lonergan and counterpart Funaki pounced to score.
The Blues claimed the kickoff and winger Mark Tele'a burst over halfway. Another Brumbies scrum malfunctioned and from another lineout, Riccitelli was mauled over the tryline.
The visitors finally opened their account in the 65th minute, when replacement halfback Luke Reimer dived across from close range. By then, any meaningful comeback was out of the question - it was simply a matter of saving face.
The Blues weren't done though, with replacement hooker Kurt Eklund taking over from where Riccitelli left off, scoring a try in the dying moments.
"It's been a tough week, pretty intense," said captain Patrick Tuipulotu. "We knew we had to respect the Brumbies and how they play.
"Very happy with our performance... we knew if we backed ourselves, we'd get the result. If we backed our physicality, which we did, we expected that result."
The Blues visit Queensland Reds next Saturday, with a chance of catching the frontrunning Hurricanes, if they stumble against a hurting Brumbies outfit that afternoon.
Blues 46 (Sotutu 2, Clarke, Papali'i, Funaki, Riccitelli & Eklund tries; Plummer 4 conversions & penalty) ACT Brumbies 7 (Reimer try; Lolesio conversion)
