14 Mar 2009

Blues destroy Cheetahs, first loss for Waratahs

6:52 am on 14 March 2009

The Blues have trounced South Africa's Cheetahs 46-12 in a lopsided Super 14 rugby match at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland.

The Blues ran in six tries to two to completely overwhelm a Cheetahs side that was reduced to playing uncontested scrums for the last 30 minutes after losing their starting front row.

Afterwards the home side's loose forward Justin Collins was presented with a greenstone mere to mark a century of Super Rugby matches.

The match was in itself a milestone for the competition, as the 1000th Super Rugby match.

Collins brought up the century of games in South Africa during the Blues' recent trip.

Meanwhile the New South Wales Waratahs suffered their first defeat of the year, going down to the ACT Brumbies 21-11 at Canberra Stadium.

The Brumbies scored two tries to one in a hard-fought encounter which typified the match's local derby status.