The Chiefs produced 40 second-half points to demolish the Blues 59–34 at FMG Stadium Waikato, ending their rivals’ hopes of a home qualifying final and sending them to Christchurch for a play-off against the Crusaders.
Key moments
3 mins – TRY BLUES: Sam Nock snapped back to the blindside and Torian Barnes cut back infield, crashing through the defence to score in the right corner. Zarn Sullivan converts. (Chiefs 0–7 Blues)
25 mins – PENALTY BLUES: Sullivan slotted a penalty from in front after the Chiefs were penalised for offside and warned by referee Angus Gardner for repeated infringements. (Chiefs 0–10 Blues)
27 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Josh Jacomb fired a flat ball to Reon Paul, who burst through a gaping hole and drew Stephen Perofeta before slinging a pass wide to an unmarked Kyren Taumoefolau on the left wing. Jacomb misses from the sideline. (Chiefs 5–10 Blues)
32 mins – TRY CHIEFS: The Chiefs’ lineout maul ground forward with Tyrone Thompson diving over down the right edge. Jacomb converts. (Chiefs 12–10 Blues)
37 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Cortez Ratima darted around the ruck and was dragged down 10 metres out. Jacomb then double-pumped before firing a cut-out ball to an unmarked Daniel Sinkinson, who dived over in the right corner. Jacomb converts from the sideline. (Chiefs 19–10 Blues)
40 mins – TRY BLUES: The Blues hammered away at the line with pick and goes before Perofeta caught and passed sharply, sending AJ Lam crashing over in the corner right on half-time. Sullivan misses. (Chiefs 19–15 Blues)
Half-time: Chiefs 19–15 Blues. An entertaining derby. The Blues started strongly through Barnes and Sullivan’s penalty but the Chiefs surged back with three tries in ten minutes as Jacomb controlled proceedings. Lam’s try on the stroke of half-time kept the Blues in touch. The Chiefs dominated the lineout while the Blues had the upper hand at scrum time.
46 mins – TRY CHIEFS: The Chiefs won a scrum penalty metres from the Blues’ line. Wallace Sititi tapped at pace and muscled through several defenders to score beside the posts. Jacomb converts. (Chiefs 26–15 Blues)
49 mins – KEY MOMENT: Lam was put into space on the right wing and took off for the corner, but Jacomb produced a brilliant try-saving knock of the ball just before Lam could ground it.
53 mins – TRY BLUES: After sustained pick-and-go pressure near the line, debutant Eli Oudenryn reached out and dotted it down. Sullivan misses. (Chiefs 26–20 Blues)
56 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Kaylum Boshier burst into space down the blindside and offloaded to Sinkinson on the right wing, who had a free run to score his second. Jacomb converts. (Chiefs 33–20 Blues)
59 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Sinkinson intercepted a loose Finlay Christie pass. Liam Coombes-Fabling slammed a deep kick downfield that took a rude bounce over Perofeta’s head and fell straight into his own arms on the chase. He slipped out of Perofeta’s clutches and streaked away from 30 metres to score. Jacomb converts. (Chiefs 40–20 Blues)
63 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Jacomb threaded a grubber into the left corner for Samipeni Finau to gather on the bounce. Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi then picked and drove at pace, powering through to score in the corner. Jacomb misses. (Chiefs 45–20 Blues)
68 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Strong scrum from the Chiefs, with Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi firing it to Paul in midfield. Paul stepped outside his defender with ease and dived over to the left of the posts. Jacomb converts and the Chiefs bring up 50. (Chiefs 52–20 Blues)
70 mins – TRY BLUES: Hoskins Sotutu fired an offload out the back for Corey Evans, who found Caleb Clarke crashing over down the left. Sullivan converts. (Chiefs 52–27 Blues)
74 mins – TRY CHIEFS: Taumoefolau burst into space on the left wing after a brilliant ball from Brodie McAlister and popped it back inside to Finau, who strolled over untouched. Tepaea Cook-Savage converts. (Chiefs 59–27 Blues)
80+3 mins – TRY BLUES: Perofeta floated a pass over the top and the ricocheting ball landed in Xavi Taele’s lap to claim a consolation try in the final play. Sullivan converts. (Chiefs 59–34 Blues)
Full-time: Chiefs 59–34 Blues
Match report
The Blues arrived in Hamilton knowing what was required. A win would reclaim third place and a home qualifying final at Eden Park. A loss would send them to Christchurch to face the Crusaders — a ground where they have lost 14 of their last 15. They got neither a win nor a contest, capitulating in the second half as the Chiefs ran in six tries after the break to turn a competitive derby into a 25-point rout in front of 19,950 at FMG Stadium Waikato.
It was all the more damaging because Jono Gibbes’ side were missing a stack of frontliners. Captain Luke Jacobson, fellow All Blacks Samisoni Taukei’aho, Tupou Vaa’i, Quinn Tupaea and Simon Parker were all rested, while Damian McKenzie remained sidelined with concussion. The Blues, too, were without Beauden Barrett (quad), Patrick Tuipulotu (neck) and Dalton Papali’i (broken jaw), but this was a match they should have been desperate enough to win regardless. Instead, they suffered a third straight defeat — their longest New Zealand derby losing streak since 2019–2020.
The visitors started sharply. Barnes crashed over in the third minute after Nock identified space on the short side, and Sullivan added a penalty on 25 minutes after Gardner warned Sititi for repeated team infringements. At 10–0, the Blues were dominant. They had territory, intensity and the better of the scrum. But they could not convert pressure into points. Clarke lost the ball reaching for the line after a trademark charge, Renata spilled it inside the 22, and the lineout — with hooker Mullan’s throws repeatedly missing target — was a recurring problem.
The Chiefs needed just one opportunity, and Paul provided it. Jacomb’s flat pass sent the midfielder through a gaping hole and he drew Perofeta before slinging it wide to Taumoefolau, who strolled over in the corner untouched. Jacomb missed the conversion but the dam had broken. Five minutes later, Thompson’s lineout maul try put the Chiefs in front for the first time, and Sinkinson’s first — off a slick cut-out ball from Jacomb — extended the lead to 19–10. Three tries in ten minutes, 19 unanswered points, and the momentum had swung completely.
Lam’s try on the stroke of half-time, finishing off quick hands from Perofeta, narrowed the gap to 19–15 and gave the Blues hope. Sullivan missed the conversion from the touchline but the visitors had at least stopped the bleeding heading into the break.
That hope lasted six minutes. The Chiefs won a scrum penalty metres from the Blues’ line and Sititi — captaining the side for the first time — took a quick tap and charged through several defenders to score beside the posts. It was a statement from the All Blacks No. 8 and set the tone for what was to come. Jacomb converted for 26–15.
The Blues had one golden chance to stay in the contest. Lam was put into space on the right wing and took off for the corner, but Jacomb produced a try-saving intervention, knocking the ball free just before Lam could ground it. It was a turning point. Six minutes later, Oudenryn — the 20-year-old debutant and son of former Warriors winger Lee Oudenryn — powered over after sustained pick-and-go pressure to make it 26–20. The Blues were still alive.
Then the Chiefs cut loose. Boshier burst down the blindside and offloaded to Sinkinson for his second in the 56th minute. Three minutes later, Coombes-Fabling produced the try of the night — intercepting after Sinkinson had pinched a loose Christie pass, then launching a deep kick downfield that bounced over Perofeta’s head, regathering on the chase, slipping out of the fullback’s clutches and racing away to score. Jacomb converted both and the scoreboard read 40–20.
From there, it was one-way traffic. Ah Kuoi powered over in the corner after Jacomb’s grubber was gathered by Finau. Paul stepped outside a weak tackle attempt from Codemeru Vai after another dominant scrum to bring up the half-century. Finau added a ninth try after Taumoefolau burst away down the left following a brilliant McAlister pass. Cook-Savage converted for 59–27. Clarke and Taele grabbed consolation tries for the Blues in the final ten minutes, with Taele’s score in the 83rd minute preventing the margin from becoming the largest ever between the two sides.
Jacomb was outstanding throughout, converting six of eight and controlling proceedings with boot and hand. Paul filled the void left by Tupaea with a complete performance in midfield. And Sititi led from the front in every sense, his physicality and work rate setting the standard. For the Blues, Segner never stopped working and Barnes was strong early, but the second-half collapse was damning. Their lineout was poor, their defence leaked badly after the break, and their attack lacked the precision to punish a side missing so many first-choice players.
The result confirms the qualifying final draw. The Chiefs, 11–3 and locked in second, host the Reds in Hamilton next Saturday night. The Blues finish 8–6 in fourth and face the Crusaders at One New Zealand Stadium — a ground where the defending champions remain unbeaten — next Saturday afternoon. Given the Blues’ spiralling form and the Crusaders’ 32-from-32 home play-off record, Vern Cotter’s men face an enormous task to keep their season alive.
Match details
Chiefs 59 (Tries: Daniel Sinkinson 2, Kyren Taumoefolau, Tyrone Thompson, Wallace Sititi, Liam Coombes-Fabling, Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Reon Paul, Samipeni Finau; Conversions: Josh Jacomb 6/8, Tepaea Cook-Savage 1/1)
Blues 34 (Tries: Torian Barnes, AJ Lam, Eli Oudenryn, Caleb Clarke, Xavi Taele; Conversions: Zarn Sullivan 3/5; Penalties: Sullivan 1)
Half-time: 19–15
Venue: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Attendance: 19,950
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Teams
Chiefs: 15 Liam Coombes-Fabling, 14 Daniel Sinkinson, 13 Daniel Rona, 12 Reon Paul, 11 Kyren Taumoefolau, 10 Josh Jacomb, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Wallace Sititi (c), 7 Jahrome Brown, 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Josh Lord, 4 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 3 George Dyer, 2 Tyrone Thompson, 1 Jared Proffit.
Replacements: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 Benet Kumeroa, 18 Keran van Staden, 19 Fiti Sa, 20 Kaylum Boshier, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Tepaea Cook-Savage, 23 Lalakai Foketi.
Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 AJ Lam, 13 Xavi Taele, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Sam Nock, 8 Malachi Wrampling, 7 Anton Segner (c), 6 Torian Barnes, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Josh Beehre, 3 Marcel Renata, 2 James Mullan, 1 Mason Tupaea.
Replacements: 16 Eli Oudenryn, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Flyn Yates, 19 Laghlan McWhannell, 20 Hoskins Sotutu, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Corey Evans, 23 Codemeru Vai.
What’s next
Qualifying finals:
Friday 5 June, 7:05pm NZST: Hurricanes (1st) v Brumbies (6th) at Sky Stadium, Wellington
Saturday 6 June, 4:35pm NZST: Crusaders (3rd) v Blues (4th) at One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch
Saturday 6 June, 7:05pm NZST: Chiefs (2nd) v Reds (5th) at FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Nations Championship1 week ago
Nations Championship2 weeks ago
Nations Championship2 weeks ago
Nations Championship2 weeks ago
Nations Championship2 weeks ago
Nations Championship1 week ago
Junior World Championship2 weeks ago
Nations Championship1 week ago