Blues down Moana Pasifika for second time in five days

On Saturday, a dominant Blues outfit cruised to a 46-16 win over Moana Pasifika at Eden Park - their second victory over the Super Rugby Pacific newcomers in less than a week.

After downing the Pacific Islanders 32-19 in a re-arranged Week 1 clash on Tuesday, the Blues repeated the feat to maintain their stellar record against teams from outside New Zealand, stretching their run to 10 in a row thanks to another impressive performance.

Moana Pasifika showed plenty of heart, but their tough start to life in Super Rugby continues as they have still only managed one win in their first five games in the competition.

Things got off to an excellent start for the visitors, who moved into a 0-6 lead thanks to two penalties from the boot of Christian Leali'ifano.

Steven Perofeta halved the deficit in the 12th minute with a penalty before Corey Evans finished a superb attacking set piece from a scrum five to score the first try of the game five minutes later.

Perofeta added the extras to put the Blues ahead for the first time, 10-6.

It was clear that Pasifika was struggling to keep up as the Blues shifted into another gear.

This was shown off emphatically in the 21st minute as Caleb Clarke finished off a devastating counterattack started by Bryce Heem's intercept in midfield. The conversion was successful once again.

The Pasifika forwards struggled all game, but a botched lineout led to their only try of the game in the 30th minute. The failed throw caught the Blues' front men by surprise, leaving them flat-footed and allowing Veikoso Poloniati to pop the ball to Tomasi Alosio to score under the posts. Leali'ifano converted to make it 17-13.

Unfortunately for the visitors, which was their best moment of the game as it was an uphill