Tony Johnson: Blues on winning streak after overseas travel

For the first time since 2011, the Blues have a winning record through their first five games of the season.But unlike their 2011 campaign, it's been their play away from home that has lifted them from obscurity to looking like a legitimate playoff contender.Their 33-14 win over the Stormers in Cape Town on Sunday morning (NZ time) showed what the side is capable of, dismantling the competition leaders across the park to hand them their first loss of the year.The Blues now hold away wins over the Waratahs, Bulls and Stormers this season, while their two losses have been home defeats at the hands of the Chiefs and Crusaders.Speaking to Radio Sport's Alex Chapman about their opening five rounds, Blues coach Leon MacDonald said the task now was figuring out how to produce the same sort of form they showed in South Africa when they return to New Zealand."If we played like that I think we'd have no trouble winning in New Zealand," MacDonald said. "It's about being consistent. We had our moments against the Chiefs and we didn't quite get it right in the second half."Scoring three tries, the Blues only had one more to their name than the Stormers; however the discipline of the two sides was a major difference as the Blues were able to add 12 points through penalty goals.But while it was a convincing score line, MacDonald said there was plenty of room for his side to improve."We had opportunities down inside their 22 during this game where we didn't execute well enough. We had the chance to finish them off with about 20 minutes to go and we didn't quite nail that."After a two-week visit to South Africa, the Blues now face a prolonged stint in New Zealand for matches against the Hurricanes, Lions and Brumbies, before heading into the bye in week nine. MacDonald was confident if his side kept performing as they were, a win in New Zealand would soon follow."We're showing some growth in a lot of areas. We don't worry about where we're playing, we're just got to turn up every week and perform. The opportunity next week is the Hurricanes and we're going to have to get that right because they're a good team. We've just got to keep playing well and we'll get our win."In other Super Rugby news:The Hurricanes have thumped the Sunwolves 62-15 in their Super Rugby match in Napier.The Wellington-based team fell behind early, before running in 10 tries, with wing Kobus van Wyk scoring a hat-trick.The win is the Hurricanes' third straight.Meanwhile, the Highlanders were exposed in a shock 28-22 Super Rugby loss to the Rebels in Dunedin.After trailing 21-0 halfway through the opening period, the Highlanders threatened to stage a stunning comeback before ultimately crumbling under the presser.The hosts' job made even tougher with two yellow cards in the second half.Meanwhile, major questions surround the state of captain James Lentjes, who was stretchered off the field in the 29th minute with a serious leg injury.The Crusaders and Chiefs had a bye week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.