The Lions became the first Super 14 rugby team to lose 12 consecutive games during a season with a second-half collapse triggering a 56-14 defeat by the Auckland Blues on Saturday.

Trailing by 10 points after a lively first half before a tiny crowd at 2010 FIFA World Cup venue Ellis Park, the South African franchise failed to score a solitary point during the following 40 minutes.

Lions have conceded 526 points in 12 matches - another record - and still have to visit compatriots the Cheetahs in the final round of the southern hemisphere championship next weekend.

After losses away to the Sharks and Cheetahs, the New Zealand-based Blues completed their three-match tour with as easy a victory as they can hope to achieve in this competition.

But the bonus-point triumph for the Blues carried no significance with the defeats in Durban and Bloemfontein ending hopes of a top-four finish and challenging for the title.

Number eight Jerome Kaino, stand-in skipper for injured All Black hooker Keven Mealamu, stretched diplomacy when he later described the Lions as a "great side.

"Our focus was to retain possession, apply pressure and create opportunities that would lead to tries and it worked. We were under pressure at times, but this was a good end to a hard tour," he added.

Lions skipper and flanker Cobus Grobbelaar must dread post-match interviews as he has long exhausted excuses for a team exposed weekly as being out of its depth with 246 points conceded against five opponents from New Zealand.

While Kaino may be a budding diplomat, Grobbelaar is a master of positive thinking, always promising better times for the few supporters who have not abandoned the side coached by Springbok assistant Dick Muir.

"Tough times do not last and we must get back on the horse and try to defeat the Cheetahs. It was a good game with some good tries, but after playing well in the first half we made silly mistakes," he said.

Pick of the nine tries was the Lions first on 31 minutes with wing Michael Killian initiating a multi-player handling move wide near his own 22 that ended with ex-Blues flyhalf Carlos Spencer touching down.

Blues Flyhalf Stephen Brett, promoted to the starting team just 20 minutes before kick-off, contributed 26 points by slotting six conversions out of seven and his three penalty attempts, while also scoring a try.

Other try scorers for the three-time champions were wingers Joe Rokocoko (2) and Paul Williams, centre Rene Ranger, scrum-half Alby Mathewson and hooker Tom McCartney.

Fullback Spencer had an eventful afternoon against his former team, scoring two tries and being sent to the 'sin bin' during the second half for a trip. Flyhalf Herkie Kruger succeeded with both conversions.

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