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Chiefs demolish Blues

Hamilton - All Blacks winger Sitiveni Sivivatu scored four tries on Saturday, setting a franchise record, as the Chiefs beat the Blues 63-32 in Super 14 rugby.

Sivivatu's first try after three minutes was his 33rd for the Chiefs in the Super 14, equalling the try-scoring record for Chiefs previously held by winger Roger Randle. Sivivatu's second, in the 14th minute, set a new mark at 34 tries before he added two more.

Sivivatu was also the first Chiefs player to score four tries in a Super 14 match.

Those tries left the Blues breathless, 28-8 down after 25 minutes in a normally closely contested local derby.

Strong midfield

The Chiefs added to the visitors' discomfort with tries to All Blacks Richard Kahui and Brendon Leonard, flanker Liam Messam and inside centre Callum Bruce. Flyhalf Stephen Donald kicked eight conversions, while Mike Delany kicked one.

The Blues managed five tries - two to Joe Rokocoko and others to fellow All Black backs Isaia Toeava and Anthony Tuitavake, and to replacement winger Jamie Helleur - but were overwhelmed by the Chiefs’ pace and combination.

The Blues were flawed and predictable, aiming their attack at the strong midfield, while the Chiefs cut Auckland's defence to pieces out wide.

"It was great. It was probably our best performance," Chiefs’ captain Mils Muliaina said. "It's taken us two years to get these guys and we finally did it."

Muliaina, who plays with Sivivatu in the All Blacks backline, said the international winger was in superb form.

"He was pretty greedy. He could have passed outside to me a couple of times," he joked. "Really, he's world-class and it's great to see him go over the tryline."

'Scraped away a point'

Sivivatu's first three tries gave Chiefs a 28-8 lead after 25 minutes and it never gave up the lead or its momentum.

The Blues tried desperately to fight their way back into the match, and eventually claimed a bonus point for four tries, but their defence was laid bare by a rampant Waikato team.

"We had a couple of errors which made it hard for us, but managed to scrape away with a point out of that so it was good to come away with something," captain Keven Mealamu said. "You're a couple of inches off the pace here and you get blown away."

Scores:

Chiefs: 63 (Sitiveni Sivivatu 4, Richard Kahui, Brendon Leonard, Lelia Masaga, Liam Messam, Callum Bruce tries; Stephen Donald 8 conversions; Mike Delany conversion).

Blues: 32 (Joe Rokocoko 2, Isaia Toeava, Anthony Tuitavake, Jamie Helleur tries; Jimmy Gopperth 2 conversions, penalty). HT, 35-15.

 

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