Chiefs first five Aaron Cruden continued his push for the All Blacks number 10 jersey as he orchestrated a 29-23 victory over the Auckland Blues in their Super Rugby clash last night.
Cruden, who missed most of last season due to a serious knee injury, had a hand in two of his side’s five tries and scored another as the table-topping Chiefs overcame a tough performance from the Blues.
Prop Mitchell Graham, wing Shaun Stevenson, centre Seta Tamanivalu and lock Brodie Retallick all scored tries for the Chiefs, while fullback Damian McKenzie slotted two conversions.
Fullback Melani Nanai and wing Rieko Ioane scored tries in the second half to give the Blues a surprising 20-10 advantage before the Chiefs fought back.
Blues flyhalf Ihaia West added three penalties and two conversions.
The Chiefs take their record to 6 wins and 1 loss while the Blues fall to 2 wins, a draw and 3 losses.
Meanwhile, the Crusaders scored two minutes from fulltime to beat the Western Force 20-19 in their Super Rugby game in Perth.
The Force led 19-13 until the 78th minute when the Crusaders scored a late try through Jordan Taufua.
The Stormers also beat the Sunwolves 46-19 this morning.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes play the Jaguares at 7.35pm today while the Highlanders play the Reds at 9.40pm.
Source: Radio NZ
