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The Blues were dominant after a shaky start as they comfortably beat the Rebels 71-28 in a Super Rugby Pacific encounter at Eden Park on Friday.
The Rebels came into the match on a high after a win over the Pasifika last time out but were sent crashing back down to earth.
The table-topping Blues secured their place at the summit of the Super Rugby standings with their 10th win in a row in the competition as they look increasingly unstoppable this year.
With all that being said, at the start of the match, it was a completely different story as Australians could not have dreamt up a more perfect start.
Pouncing on an early botched lineout, the Rebels charged over the line with Pone Fa'amausili crashing over for the game's first try less than two minutes into the game.
Then, just three minutes later, the Blues tried another quick lineout that also went awry. Josh Canham was able to intercept the ball and race away unopposed for another surprise try.
Reece Hodge hit both conversions to put the Rebels into a surprise 0-14 lead early on.
It didn't last long, though, as the Blues hit back through a brace of tries by Akira Ioane in the eighth and 13th minutes. A pair of conversions from Stephen Perofeta restored parity.
The New Zealanders then took the game away from the Rebels in a dominant display of rugby in the second part of the first half.
They took a 14-point lead as Ofa Tu'ungafasi combined with Akira Ioane to score in the 22nd minute before Mark Telea cut inside James Tucker to break into space and score.
Two more conversions from Perofeta made it 28-14.
The Blues scored three more tries before the halftime break with Hoskins Sotutu going over untouched in the 31st minute, followed by Rieko Ioane scoring his 43rd in the 36th minute and setting up Mark Telea three minutes later.
Perofeta successfully converted the first two scores but missed the last one on the stroke of halftime to bring the score to 47-14 at the break.
After a brief lull at the start of the second period, the Blues got right back at it with Rieko Ioane scoring his second try of the game in the 52nd minute to become the Blues' second-highest scorer of all time. Perofeta added the extras.
Five minutes later, Bryce Heem sent Perofeta through a space he created with a dazzling run. The flyhalf converted his score to make it 61-14.
Rieko Ioana completed his hattrick in the 63rd minute, and set up Perofeta who was sublime with ball in hand and from the kicking tee all night.
There was a flurry of action to close out proceedings as Brad Wilkin got his side a consolation try in the 74th minute, converted by Hodge, before Caleb Clarke hit back for the Blues three minutes later with an unconverted try.
It would be the Rebels that would have the final say in the game with Hodge busting his way over the line on the stroke of full time to give the score line some level of respectability.
His successful conversion left the final score at 71-28 to the Blues.
Scorers:
Blues: (47) 71
Tries: Akira Ioane (2), Christie, Tucker, Hoskins Sotutu, Rieko Ioane (3), Mark Telea, Stephen Perofeta, Caleb Clarke
Conversions: Perofeta (8)
Rebels: (14) 28
Tries: Pone Fa’amausili, Josh Canham, Brad Wilkin, Reece Hodge
Conversion: Hodge (4)
