The Hurricanes have suffered a tough 24 – 15 loss to the Blues at Sky Stadium.

It’s the first time the Wellington-based Super Rugby team has encountered another New Zealand side in their 2020 campaign.

Things looked promising for the Hurricanes early in the game, when Ben Lam managed to secure a try in the first two minutes.

The home team were up 5 – 0 until the 35-minute mark, when returning Blues number 8, Akira Ioane forced his way over line.

It was only due to a penalty kick by Jordie Barrett, that the Hurricanes were able to go into halftime with an 8- 7 lead over the Blues.

During the second half things took a turn for the worse with the squad being reduced to 13 men before the 50-minute mark.

Tyrel Lomax was the first to be sent off with a red card and then a few minutes later Vaea Fifita was yellow carded.

Captain TJ Perenara told media there was no intended malice in either case, but poor tackle technique led to the referee being forced to make a decision.

“Whilst I don’t personally believe in red cards, when you put contact on a head, you’re going to be in trouble anyway. In a big game like that, we forced the referee to make a decision.”

Head coach, Jason Holland agreed.

“It wasn’t a case that the boys lost plot or anything, it’s a technique thing that we need to fix”

There was a brief reprieve, when Gareth Evans brought a bit of flare by breaking free from a scrum and offloading to an in-form Kobus Van Wyk to score in the right-hand corner.

It was only a fleeting moment of excitement however, when the Blues were awarded a penalty try in the final seven minutes to finish off the night.

The Hurricanes now shift focus to a clash with the Chiefs in Hamilton next Friday.