Super Rugby's Blues demolished Tokyo Sungoliath 43-7 Saturday in the first of four games in the inaugural Cross-Border Rugby series between teams from New Zealand and Japan.

Sungoliath, currently third in Japan Rugby League One, trailed 19-0 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground before Kotaro Matsushima put the hosts on the scoreboard with a 30th-minute try.

Tokyo Sungoliath's Kotaro Matsushima (L) scores a try against the Blues in their Cross-Border Rugby match at Tokyo's Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground on Feb. 3, 2024. (Kyodo)

The Auckland-based Blues scored seven tries in the match serving as one of their preseason warm-ups.

The series' second game will be Sunday, between league-leading Saitama Wild Knights and the Chiefs at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, and it will wrap up next Saturday when the Blues play Yokohama Eagles and the Chiefs take on Kubota Spears.

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