The Blues have survived a late scare to defeat the NSW Waratahs 12-10 in Sydney.
In a scrappy game, the visitors had all the momentum and territory as they dominated the contest in front of 13,237 at Allianz Stadium.
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They scored two easy tries as they maintained a 12-3 lead for the majority of the second half.
However, the Waratahs kept themselves in the contest and debutant Jay Fonokalafi's late try all of sudden set up the grandstand finish.
In the end, the Blues were too strong and closed out the game in the end.
There was excitement early when Dylan Pietsch appeared to have scored, only for replays to pick up flanker Charlie Gamble stepping in to touch before delivering the last pass to the winger.
The Tahs were lucky not to lose Triston Reilly to the sin bin after the winger took out Perofeta in the air.
The Blues were also denied a try by the TMO for an obstruction at the maul, leaving the Waratahs clinging to a 3-0 lead in the shadows of halftime courtesy of a Tane Edmed penalty in the 22nd minute.
Alas, the hosts submitted after skipper Jake Gordon unfortunately put his foot in touch while attempting a clearing kick.
The weight of possession eventually told as prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi barged over to give the Blues a 7-3 lead at the break.
The Waratahs miraculously avoided falling further behind during a tense 10-minute period defending their line straight after the interval.
First the Blues were denied a second try with another obstruction ruling before Perofeta inexplicably kicked the ball dead from a regulation penalty touch finder.
But the equally-wasteful Blues finally widened the margin to beyond a converted try with their second five-pointer, this time to fullback Zarn Sullivan.
A try from a rolling maul to replacement hooker Jay Fonokalafi gave the Waratahs a late sniff, pulled off the job site as a concreter.
In the end, they had to settle for a bonus point instead on another night of what might have been for Darren Coleman's side.
Tries: Fonokalafi
Cons: Edmed 1/1
Pens: Edmed 1/1
Tries: Tu'ungafasi, Sullivan
Cons: Perofeta 1/2
Pens: Perofeta 0/3
WARATAHS (1-15): Hayden Thompson-Stringer, Julian Heaven, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Jed Holloway, Fergus Lee-Warner, Ned Hanigan, Charlie Gamble, Langi Gleeson, Jake Gordon (c), Tane Edmed, Dylan Pietsch, Joey Walton, Izaia Perese, Triston Reilly, Mark Nawaqanitawase
RESERVES: Jay Fonokalafi, Angus Bell, Tom Ross, Miles Amatosero, Hugh Sinclair, Lachlan Swinton, Jack Grant, Harry Wilson
BLUES (1-15): Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Kurt Eklund, Marcel Renata, Josh Beehre, Laghlan McWhannell, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papali'i (c), Hoskins Sotutu, Finlay Christie, Stephen Perofeta, Caleb Clarke, Bryce Heem, Rieko Ioane, Mark Tele'a, Zarn Sullivan
RESERVES: Soane Vikena, Joshua Fusitu'a, Angus Ta'avao, Cameron Suafoa, Anton Segner, Sam Nock, Harry Plummer, Cole Forbes
Referee: Jordan Way
Assistant Referees: Matt Kellahan, James Palmer
The Waratahs' clash with the Blues will be shown LIVE on Stan Sport and the Nine Network.
Coverage will be live and ad-free on Stan Sport, slated to start at 7:00 pm with kickoff expected at 7:35 pm.
The game will also be shown on free-to-air television on 9Gem, with coverage beginning at 7:00 pm
