The Chiefs made the perfect start to life under new coach Jono Gibbes, snatching a scrappy but precious 19-15 victory over the Blues at Eden Park as All Black halfback Cortez Ratima raced clear with four minutes remaining to silence the Auckland faithful.
Key moments
3 mins – PENALTY MISSED CHIEFS: Josh Jacomb, playing in place of new father Damian McKenzie, pulls his first kick badly to the left from 40 metres out in front. A poor start off the tee. (Blues 0-0 Chiefs)
7 mins – PENALTY MISSED BLUES: Stephen Perofeta does the exact same thing, dragging his kick hopelessly left from near in front. Dreadful miss that should have been converted with his eyes closed. (Blues 0-0 Chiefs)
19 mins – HELD UP BLUES: Bradley Slater nearly comes up with a dream start against his old side, but the new Blues hooker is held up over the line by Daniel Rona. Sums up a tense, scoreless opening quarter. (Blues 0-0 Chiefs)
28 mins – MISSED CHANCE CHIEFS: Quinn Tupaea spots space and opts for the crossfield kick to an unmarked Naitoa Ah Kuoi, but puts too much on it and the ball sails out of play. Should have just passed. (Blues 0-0 Chiefs)
32 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Tupou Vaa’i opens the scoring with an acrobatic effort. Josh Jacomb’s superb 50/22 puts the Chiefs on the attack, and from the resulting lineout, Vaa’i spots the Blues defenders going low and dives over the top to claim the first try. Jacomb misses the conversion from wide on the left. (Blues 0-5 Chiefs)
35 mins – TRY BLUES: The hosts strike back immediately. A Bradley Slater steal ignites the attack, and Caleb Clarke breaks through the line with a powerful run down the left touchline. Pita Ahki, on debut, provides an excellent offload to put Zarn Sullivan into a hole, and the fullback strides through the gap to score unopposed. Stephen Perofeta misses the conversion. (Blues 5-5 Chiefs)
38 mins – YELLOW CARD CHIEFS: Kaylum Boshier is sent to the sin bin after shoulder-to-head contact with Blues prop Josh Fusitu’a. The TMO confirms yellow card only, but the Chiefs will be down a man heading into the break. (Blues 5-5 Chiefs)
Half-time: Blues 5-5 Chiefs. A cagey, error-strewn opening 40 minutes with neither side able to gain control. Both goal-kickers wayward, both defences dominant. Blues have man advantage entering the second half after Boshier’s yellow card.
53 mins – TRY BLUES: Dalton Papali’i crashes over from close range for the captain’s try. Zarn Sullivan creates the opportunity with a powerful run that almost sees him burst through, and with the advantage up their sleeves, Papali’i is able to crash and smuggle his way to the line. Sullivan takes over the goal-kicking and curls through from out on the right. (Blues 12-5 Chiefs)
57 mins – CLOSE CALL CHIEFS: Etene Nanai-Seturo dribbles a kick towards the corner which bobbles into the in-goal, but Finlay Christie does superbly to win the race and ground it for a goal-line dropout. The Chiefs denied. (Blues 12-5 Chiefs)
63 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Samisoni Taukei’aho powers over from the back of the rolling maul. The Chiefs show patience, with the backs joining the drive as it charges towards the line before collapsing a metre out. Taukei’aho comes off the back, keeping low and powering his way to the line. Josh Jacomb converts from left of the posts. (Blues 12-12 Chiefs)
66 mins – PENALTY BLUES: Some sloppy play from the Chiefs at the restart—they fumble forward and are called for accidental offside. Zarn Sullivan slots the penalty from in front to reclaim the lead with 14 minutes remaining. (Blues 15-12 Chiefs)
74 mins – LINEOUT STOLEN CHIEFS: Crucial moment. Tupou Vaa’i and Naitoa Ah Kuoi thwart a Blues lineout drive in the corner, winning back possession with the visitors trailing by three. (Blues 15-12 Chiefs)
76 mins – TRY CHIEFS: The match-winner. Samipeni Finau takes a pop pass off Vaa’i to burst between defenders, breaking the line with a powerful surge. He pops it off his left shoulder to find Cortez Ratima in support, and the All Black halfback is too quick, racing clear to score under the posts with four minutes remaining. Josh Jacomb converts. (Blues 15-19 Chiefs)
78 mins – YELLOW CARD BLUES: Sam Nock is sent to the sin bin for a cynical infringement after Kaylum Boshier swoops on a horrid pass from Josh Beehre. The Blues’ hopes of a comeback take a fatal blow. (Blues 15-19 Chiefs)
80 mins – LINEOUT STOLEN CHIEFS: The final nail. The Blues have one last chance with a lineout on the Chiefs’ 10-metre line, but the visitors pinch the throw and run down the clock.
Full-time: Blues 15-19 Chiefs
In a derby dominated by the defences and littered with handling errors, it was a rare moment of attacking magic that decided the outcome. Samipeni Finau’s explosive break through tired defenders set up Ratima’s match-winning score, leaving the Blues to rue a game they had in their grasp.
For Gibbes, taking charge after replacing Clayton McMillan, it was a dream debut. The Chiefs begin another season desperate for their first title since 2013 after three consecutive grand final defeats under McMillan—and this gritty win at the home of their arch-rivals suggests they remain contenders.
Neither side had their star playmaker available. The Blues were without Beauden Barrett as he continues his managed return to play, while Damian McKenzie missed the birth of his first child, a baby boy. The battle between Stephen Perofeta and Josh Jacomb would determine much, but both flyhalves endured mixed evenings.
The opening quarter was a comedy of errors. Both Jacomb and Perofeta missed simple penalty goals within the first seven minutes—Jacomb pulling his effort badly left from 40 metres, Perofeta doing the exact same from even closer. Handling was poor, lineouts went astray, and few attacks stirred the Auckland crowd.
The Blues flirted with the try line in the 19th minute when new recruit Bradley Slater—facing his former side—lunged for the whitewash, only to be held up by Daniel Rona. The Chiefs had their own opportunity when Quinn Tupaea spotted an unmarked Naitoa Ah Kuoi on the wing, but his crossfield kick sailed out of play.
Eden Park had to wait until the 32nd minute for the first points. Jacomb’s excellent 50/22 gave the Chiefs prime attacking position, and from the resulting lineout, the ball was worked close to the line. Tupou Vaa’i—back to his pestering best after recovering from an ankle injury—spotted the Blues defenders going low and launched himself over the top with remarkable athleticism. Jacomb missed the conversion.
The Blues struck back within three minutes. A Slater steal at the breakdown ignited a counter-attack, and Caleb Clarke’s powerful run down the left touchline took the hosts inside the 22. Pita Ahki, making his first Blues appearance since 2015 after a lengthy stint in France, provided an excellent offload to put Zarn Sullivan into a hole. The fullback strode through the gap to score unopposed, though Perofeta’s conversion drifted wide.
To make matters worse for the Chiefs, Kaylum Boshier’s shoulder connected with the head of Blues prop Josh Fusitu’a before the break, earning a yellow card and leaving his side a man down heading into halftime locked at 5-5.
While the Blues had the numerical advantage, they could not capitalise before the interval. Quinn Tupaea won a crucial turnover on his own line to preserve parity.
The second half offered a slight improvement in execution. The Vern Cotter-inspired Blues forwards began to find their footing, working patiently towards the Chiefs’ tryline. In the 53rd minute, Sullivan almost burst through on a powerful run, and with the advantage up their sleeves, captain Dalton Papali’i crashed over from close range. Sullivan took over the goal-kicking duties and curled through from the right—the Blues led 12-5.
The Chiefs’ answer came from their set piece. After Finlay Christie denied Etene Nanai-Seturo with a superb goal-line recovery, the visitors went to the corner and set up the rolling maul. The backs joined the drive as it charged towards the line before collapsing a metre out. Samisoni Taukei’aho came off the back, keeping low and powering his way over. Jacomb’s conversion levelled scores at 12-12.
Some sloppy play from the Chiefs at the restart—fumbling forward and conceding accidental offside—presented Sullivan an easy chance to nudge the Blues back in front. His penalty from in front made it 15-12 with 14 minutes remaining.
Time was ticking on the Chiefs. When Vaa’i and Ah Kuoi thwarted a Blues lineout drive in the corner, it sparked hope. Then came the moment of decisive quality.
Finau, brought off the bench for impact, took a pop pass from Vaa’i to burst between tired defenders and break the line. He popped it off his left shoulder to find Ratima in support, and the All Black halfback was too quick, racing clear to dive over under the posts with four minutes remaining. Jacomb’s conversion made it 19-15.
The Blues lost their heads from there. A horrid pass from Josh Beehre was swooped upon by Boshier, and when Sam Nock infringed cynically after the cover tackle, he was sent to the sin bin. The final blow came when the Chiefs pinched a lineout on their 10-metre line with seconds remaining, allowing them to run down the clock and seal victory.
For the Blues, despite defeat, there were positives. Stand-in captain Papali’i was exceptional throughout, Sullivan looked sharp on his welcome return from injury, and Ahki showed his class on debut. But the late collapse will sting.
The Chiefs showed again that they will be contenders in 2026. Vaa’i was a menace on both sides of the ball, Luke Jacobson troubled around the rucks, and the bench impact from Finau and Ratima proved decisive. Even without McKenzie’s spark, this remains a dangerous side.
Match details
Blues 15 (Tries: Zarn Sullivan, Dalton Papali’i; Conversions: Zarn Sullivan 1/1; Penalties: Zarn Sullivan 1/1)
Chiefs 19 (Tries: Tupou Vaa’i, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Cortez Ratima; Conversions: Josh Jacomb 2/3)
Halftime: 5-5
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Todd Petrie, Maggie Cogger-Orr
TMO: Brett Cronan
Yellow Cards: Kaylum Boshier (Chiefs, 38′), Sam Nock (Blues, 78′)
What’s next
The Blues trek across to Perth to face the Western Force next Saturday, looking to bounce back from this late heartbreak. The Chiefs travel south to play the Highlanders in Dunedin on the same day, seeking to build on a winning start under Gibbes.
