An age-old rivalry produced yet another entertaining battle as Canterbury toppled Auckland 33-11 at AMI Stadium on Wednesday night.
A blistering first half, and the perfect kicking of Tom Taylor, gave the defending ITM Cup champions the early momentum and a lead which Auckland would never recover from.
The visitors rode into Christchurch with ample confidence after a gutsy first-up win against last year's Championship winners Hawke's Bay.
An upset loss in their previous fixture, against southern neighbours Tasman, provided Canterbury with all the motivation they needed to produce a much improved performance and their first win of the season.
Halfback Andy Ellis starred in the opening spell. The 53-cap veteran's tireless support play provided the finishing touches for two of his side's frequent wide attacking plays.
Auckland's decision not to commit to the breakdown enhanced their capability to defend out wide, however, a lack of commitment in their attacking rucks resulted in numerous turnovers which deprived them of possession and a chance to build any significant pressure.
Lateral play did little for the red-and-blacks against Tasman, but when Johnny McNicholl found space from the opening kick-off, there were ominous signs for the visitors.
Canterbury's early roll was halted when a standard turnover quickly escalated into an all out blitz after Auckland rookie Malakai Fekitoa's line-break ended with winger Ben Lam cashing in near the corner for his second try in as many outings in the ITM Cup.
The second attempt to spin the ball wide worked a treat for McNicholl, who this time found good support in Robbie Fruean and Ellis. The latter dotted down for a timely reply in the third minute.
Leading 7-5, Canterbury added six points through penalties either side of one from Auckland's Gareth Anscombe - the home side leading 13-8 after the first quarter of play.
All Black Charlie Faumuina was a strong presence at scrum time, however, his positioning in the backline was exposed by Ryan Crotty who used the mismatch to set up Ellis' second five-pointer.
An easy conversion for Taylor extended the lead to 20-8.
Back in his comfort zone, Faumuina was able to make amends for his earlier error when he got the better of prop Paea Fa'anunu, who was ruled to have collapsed the scrum. Anscombe converted the ensuing penalty to reduce the gap to nine.
Seven minutes after the break, Taylor took his points tally to 13 after referee Mike Fraser awarded his side its fifth penalty of the night.
Following an error-riddled period, Taylor put the result beyond doubt with another three points - Auckland required three scores to overcome a 26-11 deficit.
With the clock widning down, and Auckland's frustration rising, replacement halfback Willi Heinz added insult to injury when he sneaked over the line next to the posts.
Canterbury 33 (Ellis 2, Heinz tries; Taylor 4 pen, Taylor 2, Bleyendaal con)
Auckland 11 (Lam try; Anscombe 2 pen)
HT:20-11
