Blues vs Chiefs takes: Quinn Tupaea masterclass, new man on the block

A late Cortez Ratima try gave the Chiefs an ideal start to the Super Rugby Pacific 2026 season, beating the Blues in a narrow and gripping 80-minute contest at Eden Park.

The second New Zealand derby of Super Rugby Pacific round one was played at Auckland’s Eden Park on Saturday, where a solid crowd were in attendance for a rematch of last year’s qualifying final matchup.

Here are some takeaways from the round one fixture.

Quinn Tupaea and breakdowns go together like peanut butter and jelly

The midfielder has started the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season the same way he ended it with the All Blacks, on top of his game.

Tupaea came in at No.12 in RugbyPass’ Top 50 Super Rugby Pacific players for 2026, after a stellar season with last year’s runners-up. The Chiefs second-five had ten turnovers in last year’s campaign, and by the end of the opening half in 2026, he had already won two important ones.

The 26-year-old led the turnover count at halftime with two, proving that he’s practically an immovable object at the breakdown. Tupaea was second equal with eleven tackles in the opening 40 minutes, with one of them stopping a Pita Ahki opportunity down the left-hand touchline.

Tupaea left the field in the 73rd minute with a game-high 18 tackles and eight carries to go with his two impressive first-half turnovers.

There’s a new man on the block

The 2003-born loose-forward has the frame to compete at Super Rugby Pacific level, and showed in the first-half against the Chiefs that he’s more than up to the task physically.

Barnes made a game-high ten carries at halftime, with two line breaks and five tackles completed in not only the first half of the season, but his first appearance in Super Rugby Pacific.

Pita Ahki could be a better fit for the Blues than Ioane

There’s no doubting Rieko Ioane’s ability, impact, and class over the past nine years in his 88 All Blacks caps and 133 Blues appearances. His defensive attributes too, can’t be under-appreciated, but Ioane’s move to Leinster in Ireland gave the Blues an opportunity to bring Pita Ahki back to Auckland.

Ahki played 13 games for the Blues between 2014-15, before playing for multiple teams in Europe, where he won a number of titles.

In 2026 pre-season, Ahki impressed with performances against both the Hurricanes and the Crusaders, scoring and assisting against the latter at Onewa Domain in Auckland.

The 33-year-old experienced midfielder wasn’t afraid of getting stuck in against the Chiefs in round one, taking the opportunity to run straight at the away side’s defence on multiple occasions.

Ioane and Ahki are different players, different positions, and have different skillsets, but Ahki’s abrasive ball-running style could prove to be more effective for the Blues and Vern Cotter.

Pre-season rust can’t be shaken 

An opening 25 minutes for the purists. Dropped balls, missed penalty attempts, and kicks out on the full showcased what rusty Super Rugby Pacific teams play like in round one.

It was scrappy, but maybe that’s just the way it goes in round one for everyone. The Highlanders and Crusaders didn’t exactly play the house down in the first 40 minutes on Friday, but there were some exciting moments on display under the roof.

Neither coach would probably admit it, but these two teams at Eden Park looked slight underdone in the first half, even after nearly two months of pre-season training, and two New Zealand pre-season derbies to warm the shoulders up.

Two tries lightened the game up a fraction, but neither team demonstrated any sort of cohesion with ball in hand, or much brutality on defence in the opening half.

It won’t be this way all season, but the fans at Eden Park weren’t exactly treated to a modern-day, attacking classic on Saturday evening in the first half.