ACT Brumbies half back Nic White said "Test match intensity" was on display as his side upset the highly-rated Blues to send an early message in the Super Rugby Pacific season.
Staying grounded after the ease of their 60-20 win over the Highlanders will be the key for the Blues when meeting the Brumbies in Melbourne on Sunday.
Six-time Crusaders Super Rugby Pacific winning coach Scott Robertson had his players attack the perceived area of Blues strength, the lineout, to secure his side's 21–7 victory over a shell-shocked Blues side at Eden Park on Saturday.
After 15 weeks of regular season and two rounds of playoffs, a packed Eden Park awaits the Blues and Crusaders in the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific final this Saturday night.
New Zealand's stranglehold on the Super Rugby Pacific will continue for another year after the Blues snuffed out the hopes of the remaining Australian side, beating the Brumbies 20-19 at Eden Park.
Memories of a win denied them by a last-second Beauden Barrett dropped goal, landed under a penalty advantage, is fuelling Brumbies hopes ahead of Saturday's Super Rugby Pacific semifinal at Eden Park.
Former NRL superstar Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scored his first Super Rugby Pacific try as the Blues cruised through to the semifinals with a 35-6 win against the Highlanders at Eden Park.
Retiring Highlanders coach Tony Brown has known the best of times and some less memorable times but Saturday's Super Rugby Pacific quarterfinal against the Blues represents a final chance to score a march in Auckland.