Blues beat Sharks 23-18 in Super Rugby

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) Winger Rieko Ioane cracked a tiring Sharks defense in the 64th minute for a try that clinched the Blues' 23-18 come-from-behind win in Super Rugby.

The Sharks led from the ninth minute, when captain Tendai Mtawarira scored their opening try, until the 64th minute when Ioane burst between Mtawarira and hooker Franco Marais, dashing 30 meters to the tryline Saturday.

Outstanding defense kept the Sharks in front during that 55-minute period but the pace of the game and toll of travel began to tell as the Sharks started to slip off tackles and make handling errors.

Ioane capitalized, scoring the try that leveled the match at 18-18 and allowing flyhalf Ihaia West to nudge the Blues ahead with the conversion. West also added a penalty on the tick of fulltime.