Blues storm past Brumbies into Super Rugby final

The Auckland Blues rode their relentless forward power to the Super Rugby Pacific final for the second time in three years on Friday with a 34-20 semi-final victory over the ACT Brumbies at Eden Park.

The three-times Super Rugby champions scored four tries in the first quarter and one more after the break to set up a title decider against the Wellington Hurricanes or Waikato Chiefs, who meet in Saturday's second semi-final.

The Brumbies gave themselves too much to do after a poor start and exit at the semi-final stage for the third straight year, again leaving the competition an all-New Zealand affair at the business end.

"It means so much to this group of players, we've got a lot of old guys in the side and we've been through so much together," said Blues flanker Dalton Papali'i, who was standing in as captain for the injured Patrick Tuipulotu.

"We've got one more game to go."

The Australians failed to adapt to the wet conditions early on and the Blues were happy to exploit a series of basic errors, particularly on the restart, with their distinctive brand of direct, physical rugby.

Multiple phases of pick and go from the home pack set up tries for centre AJ Lam, hooker Ricky Riccitelli, lock Sam Darry and winger Caleb Clarke to give the home side a 24-6 lead inside the first 21 minutes.

Brumbies number eight Rob Valetini was unstinting in his effort and got his reward with a try from close range four minutes before the break but Blues flyhalf Harry Plummer kicked a 47m penalty to give his side a 27-13 lead at halftime.

The visitors, looking to become the first Australian team in 28 years of Super Rugby to win a playoff in New Zealand, knew they needed to score first in the second half and came close through Billy