Chiefs, Bulls fight for 16-16 draw at Eden Park

Blues 16-16 Chiefs, Eden Park
Scorecard

Aaron Cruden missed a conversion in the final quarter as the Super Rugby encounter between Blues and Chiefs finished with a 16-16 draw at Eden Park on Friday.

The first quarter saw Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie and Blues fly-half Piers Francis exchange penalties as the scores were levelled 3-3. Winger Reiko Ioane scored the opening try in the game that came in 29th minute while a conversion from Francis provided Blues a seven point lead advantage.

Francis further extended Blues' lead to 10 points with his second penalty but a touchdown from McKenzie at the stroke of half time reduced the gap between the teams to five points.

The third penalty from Francis came at the start of the second half but it was soon negated by a three-pointer from Cruden. As the rain lashed out at Eden Park, errors were imminent from either side.

As the game was heading for a tight finish, Jonathan Faauli helped Chiefs level the scores when he strolled past the post in the 67th minute but they lost an advantage to gain a lead after Cruden missed a conversion.

The scores were levelled 16-16 as the game entered the final 10 minutes and Francis missed a penalty in the 73rd minute that went wide of the post leaving the team to share the points.

Chiefs are positioned second in New Zealand Conference while Blues languish at the bottom of the table.