Friday, 20 April 2018:

KAYNE HAMMINGTON of the Highlanders dives over to score a try during the Super Rugby match between the Highlanders and the Reds at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Flanker Shannon Frizell has announced himself to Super Rugby with a hat-trick of tries for the Highlanders who have outclassed the Blues 34-16 in Auckland.

In another disastrous night for the Blues, the visitors scored five tries to two at Eden Park to notch a fifth win from seven games and keep pace with the competition leaders.

The injury-wracked Blues' playoff hopes are looking increasingly bleak after crashing on Friday night to a sixth loss and their 15th-successive defeat in a Kiwi derby.

At the heart of their misery was Tongan-born rookie Frizell, whose three tries showcased his athleticism and helped to explain why he was starting a second-straight game ahead of former All Blacks No.6 Elliot Dixon.

The younger brother of Australian rugby league star Tyson Frizell, his best touch of the night came when creating a try.

With the Highlanders leading 20-11 at halftime, they took charge when 24-year-old Frizell unleashed a freakish offload to set up halfback Kayne Hammington.

Frizell bagged his third soon afterwards, courtesy of an inside pass from fullback Ben Smith.

It rendered a late try to Blues debut centre Tumua Manu irrelevant as the game petered out.

Flanker Dillon Hunt crossed early from a charge-down before Blues halfback Jonathan Ruru responded, along with two penalty goals from Bryn Gatland.

The Blues paid for a lack of penetration.

Coming off a 24-10 win over the Sunwolves in Tokyo, they had enough possession to repeat that result, forcing the Highlanders into 191 tackles.

In return, the Blues were asked to make just 47, yet missed 17 of them, with Frizell and outside backs Tevita Li and Rob Thompson creating headaches.

Remarkably, the Blues had 18 players unavailable for selection because of injury.

The Highlanders, who have notched four-straight wins over the Blues for the first time, leave on Saturday for matches against the Bulls and Sharks in South Africa.

AAP