The Chiefs have clung on to beat the Blues 33-29 in a physical and entertaining Super Rugby derby.
Chiefs captain Brodie Retallick goes on the charge against the Blues. Photo: Photosport
Up 14-10 at halftime in Hamilton on Saturday night, the home side scored five tries to four end the Blues four-match winning streak.
On all three occasions the Chiefs scored in the second half, the Blues responded with a try of their own, and the visitors had a chance to steal victory before knocking the ball on with just a minute to play.
Exhausted Chiefs captain Brodie Retallick told Sky TV the match had everything.
"Yea I'm not sure how to sum that up, it was a classic New Zealand derby.
"It was very physical and fast. They're the games you want to play in. Full credit to the Blues, they took it to us and I'm really proud of the effort from the boys.
"We came out here on our home ground and wanted to prove a point and fix up the first few rounds."
After conceding an early penalty, the Chiefs raced out to a 14-3 lead thanks to a Brad Webber intercept and another try to flanker Lachlan Boshier.
The Blues finally crossed for a five-pointer in first half injury time, before a ding-dong battle ensued in the second spell.
Tries to Ataata Moeakiola, Jesse Parete and a second to Boshier were wiped out by a pair to veteran midfielder Ma'a Nonu, who was again outstanding, and a superb finish by Rieko Ioane.
In the end, though, the Chiefs halftime buffer proved the difference, allowing them to continue their resurgence after a poor start to the season.
After five straight losses, the Chiefs now have three consecutive wins.
Meanwhile the New Zealand men's sevens team have come back from 17 points down to beat Samoa and secure three wins from three in the group stages of the Singapore World Series event.
The world champions conceded the first three tries against Samoa, before storming back with four of their own for a 26-22 victory.
New Zealand earlier collected big wins against Japan (43-0) and Spain (53-0).