Auckland end their blues

The Auckland Blues snapped a woeful losing record downing a 12-man Hurricanes, while the Rebels coasted past the Lions in Super Rugby on Saturday.

The Blues ended a run of 25 straight losses in away games in New Zealand with a 24-15 win over the Hurricanes in Wellington.

Meanwhile in Melbourne, the Rebels broke a run of five losses against the Lions with a bonus-point 37-17 win over the South Africans.

The Rebels led 15-10 at halftime after getting away to 15-0 inside the opening 30 minutes from tries by Andrew Kellaway and Richard Hardwick.

But yellow cards to Marika Koroibete and Tom English in the final 10 minutes of the half allowed the Lions back into the contest.

Left-winger Jamba Ulengo scored for the Lions six minutes before the break converted by Elton Jantjies, who also landed a penalty goal right on halftime.

The Rebels took charge in the second half with Kellaway completing his third double of the season and a total of seven for the campaign with other tries to Isi Naisarani and Dane Haylett-Petty.

The Lions, who leave Australia for New Zealand after losing both tour games, had only a converted try by Sithembiso Sithole to show for their second half efforts.

“It was a very good win; really proud of the boys; the main thing was probably the work ethic; we chased everything and showed a lot of heart,” Rebels skipper Dane Haylett-Petty said.

“Attack was good, defence was good; we’re building really nicely.”

Auckland’s win was their first derby away win in New Zealand since that against the Hurricanes in 2013. —