The Blues have turned in another insipid performance to lose 34-23 to the Melbourne Rebels in Victoria.
The Auckland side is now bottom of the Super Rugby table, after the Wallabies duo Kurtley Beale and James O'Connor lived up to their star billing to steer the Rebels to the win at AAMI Park.
Both sides were searching for just their second win of the season but it was the Rebels who showed the most desperation to shut down their star-studded but under-performing opponents.
The Blues had the most attacking opportunities, particularly early on, but were unable to capitalise due to some staunch Melbourne defence and costly errors from the visitors.
The Blues scored through flanker Chris Lowrey with three minutes remaining to trail 27-23 and set up a thrilling finish but the Rebels put an exclamation mark on the victory with a last-minute try to their skipper Gareth Delve.
The Rebels led 11-9 at half-time.
