Auckland Blues

The home side were put under pressure early on at Eden Park, as the Brumbies' second-five Irae Simone silenced the home crowd with a barnstorming try in just the third minute of the game.

After a perfect start by the Brumbies the Blues quickly took control of the game, playing open running rugby which ultimately led to their first try of the game through number-eight Hoskins Sotutu.

The home side continued to dominate the game in the first-half, with first-five Beauden Barrett orchestrating much of the play.

That excruciating night in Canberra, settled only by a Beauden Barrett dropped goal at the death, forms a significant backdrop to Saturday’s semifinal at Eden Park.

The Auckland based side kept the Highlanders try-less in their dominant 35-6 quarter-final win at Eden Park last night.

A red card to Highlanders hooker Andrew Makileo put his side on the back foot from the 22nd minute, but the Southerners were still in the contest at half-time, trailing 14-6.

The Blues outshone the valiant Highlanders in the second half, running in three tries to close out the contest.

Beauden Barrett finished with a brace, while Akira Ioane, AJ Lam and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck all crossed the line for tries of their own.

The 2018 Dally M medallist was in sparkling touch and continued to push his case for All Blacks selection, creating a try for Beauden Barrett on 48 minutes before slashing through for his own on 69 minutes.

Despite losing hooker Andrew Makalio to a red card for a no-arms tackle in the 22nd minute, the Highlanders managed to keep the Blues at bay for the first half an hour of the contest, taking a 6-0 lead through two Marty Banks penalties.

The Force started the match brightly, with In-form winger Manasa Mataele racing in for the first try of the match in the eighth minute.

The free-flowing scoring continued in the early stages, with Blues fly-half and All Blacks star Beauden Barrett narrowing the margin to five with a straightforward penalty goal in the 12th minute.

The Blues hit the front in the 19th minute courtesy of a close-range Sam Darry try.

Akira Ioane stormed over in the 21st minute, with AJ Lam adding a third try in the 29th minute, as the Blues took a 22-8 lead into half time.

This Saturday they play their first trans-Tasman game against the Blues in Melbourne.

It'll be a whole new ball game altogether facing New Zealand-based teams, especially the Super Rugby Pacific leaders, however, Byrne said the players are excited.

The big Pacific match-up against Moana Pasifika takes place on May 14 in Sydney.

Byrne said this weekend will be an opportunity for the Drua to measure themselves against the best.

Leading 17-7 at the break, the Blues clung on to win the bruising contest, successfully defending their line in the dying minutes for a historic victory.

The Blues were the first to score when Stephen Perofeta slotted a penalty in the 9th minute.

The Crusaders hit back through Will Jordan when he received a cut out ball from David Havili to touch down in the 18th minute.

Up 19-5 at halftime, the Blues eventually fought off a spirited fightback from the home side to secure a 32-19 victory at Mt Smart Stadium on Tuesday night.

Moana Pasifika's third try midway through the second spell closed the gap to just five points with 20 minutes remaining.

But the Blues held their nerve, coming up with their fifth try of the match and a late penalty to seal the result.

The two teams were each playing the second match of a three-match run in eight or nine days, meaning both made wholesale changes from their previous game.

The six New Zealand-based teams in the competition will spend the first few weeks of the season in a hub over coronavirus fears in the remote southern city of Queenstown, while attendance at matches will be capped at 100, in line with the government's attempt to minimise coronavirus infections.

"We're in no-man's land about where things go. Then you've got these draconian close contact rules that make, for most businesses in this country looking through an economic lens, everything unworkable and seemingly very disorganised," said Hore.

The franchise announced on Friday the Better Blues Company Limited would purchase the 40 percent holding in the Blues which had previously been held by New Zealand Rugby after they bought back the shareholding from the previous private owners three years ago.

The remaining 60 percent has been shared since 2013 between the provincial unions of Auckland, Northland and North Harbour.