PERTH: The Auckland Blues battened down to defeat the strong-finishing Western Force 17-13 in a battle of the Super Rugby strugglers in Perth on Saturday.
Tana Umaga's Blues led 17-3 at half-time and fended off the Force despite not scoring a point in the second half for their sixth win of the season.
Auckland dominated the opening half with tries from Jerome Kaino and Tevita Li, but had to defend for long periods as the home side hit back in the second term.
Force skipper Matt Hodgson ploughed over from close range in the 54th minute and former Queensland Reds centre Ben Tapuai kicked the home side to within four points with a penalty goal with 16 minutes.
Force were in the Blues' quarter for the final stages before they lost possession in a driving maul allowing the Kiwis to kill off the game.
Auckland saw out the game with 14 men after replacement forward Nic Mayhew was yellow-carded for collapsing a Force maul close to the Blues' try-line.
The win did little to help Auckland's lowly standing in the New Zealand conference despite the inconsistent Blues bouncing back after being thumped 43-5 by the Golden Lions in South Africa last week.
It was again more heartbreak for Western Force, who are still without a home victory this season.
The Force were looking for rare consecutive wins, after beating the Sunwolves in Japan two weeks ago to snap a seven-game losing streak.
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