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The lights dimmed on the Blues' Super 14 campaign when they were beaten 31-24 by the Reds on Saturday in a match interrupted by a blackout at North Harbour Stadium in Albany.
A power failure at an electricity substation caused the lights on two of the four lighting towers at the stadium on Auckland's North Shore to go out in the third minute and it was 45 minutes before play resumed.
The Blues appeared to be suffering from a lack of spark after the enforced break and the Reds quickly charged into an imposing lead on the back of tries from Berrick Barnes and James Horwill.
Barnes converted both to add to his penalty from before the lighting failed, giving the visitors a 17-0 advantage they never looked like relinquishing.
The Blues had almost 60 percent possession in the first spell but poor option taking by halfbacks Tasesa Lavea and Taniela Moa left them pinned inside their own half and they only got on the board a minute before the break when Isaia Toeava barrelled over.
The Reds extended their lead to 31-5 after some 10 minutes of the second half courtesy of tries from centre Digby Ioane and replacement winger Charlie Fetoai, both of which Barnes converted.
The Blues rallied in the final 30 minutes to score tries through replacement loose forward Peter Saili and lock Kurtis Haiu before Jimmy Gopperth, who had replaced Lavea at halftime, crossed in stoppage time.
Gopperth added two conversions to give the Blues a second bonus point for a tally of 30 points for the season, good enough for third before other matches later on Saturday.
Scorers:
Blues - Tries: Isaia Toeava, Peter Saili, Kurtis Halu, Jimmy Gopperth. Conversions: Gopperth (2).
Reds - Tries: Berick Barnes, James Horwill. Conversions: Barnes (2). Penalty Conversion: Barnes.
A power failure at an electricity substation caused the lights on two of the four lighting towers at the stadium on Auckland's North Shore to go out in the third minute and it was 45 minutes before play resumed.
The Blues appeared to be suffering from a lack of spark after the enforced break and the Reds quickly charged into an imposing lead on the back of tries from Berrick Barnes and James Horwill.
Barnes converted both to add to his penalty from before the lighting failed, giving the visitors a 17-0 advantage they never looked like relinquishing.
The Blues had almost 60 percent possession in the first spell but poor option taking by halfbacks Tasesa Lavea and Taniela Moa left them pinned inside their own half and they only got on the board a minute before the break when Isaia Toeava barrelled over.
The Reds extended their lead to 31-5 after some 10 minutes of the second half courtesy of tries from centre Digby Ioane and replacement winger Charlie Fetoai, both of which Barnes converted.
The Blues rallied in the final 30 minutes to score tries through replacement loose forward Peter Saili and lock Kurtis Haiu before Jimmy Gopperth, who had replaced Lavea at halftime, crossed in stoppage time.
Gopperth added two conversions to give the Blues a second bonus point for a tally of 30 points for the season, good enough for third before other matches later on Saturday.
Scorers:
Blues - Tries: Isaia Toeava, Peter Saili, Kurtis Halu, Jimmy Gopperth. Conversions: Gopperth (2).
Reds - Tries: Berick Barnes, James Horwill. Conversions: Barnes (2). Penalty Conversion: Barnes.
