'Has Leon turned them into the Crusaders?': Twitter erupts as Blues remain undefeated in Super Rugby Aotearoa

Another impressive showing by the Blues has left Twitter in awe of Leon MacDonald's side as they maintain their place at the summit of the Super Rugby Aotearoa standings after two rounds of action.

The men from Auckland travelled to Hamilton in search of their first win in the city since 2011, and came away with a hard-fought, but well-deserved, 24-12 victory, with tries to Hoskins Sotutu and Mark Telea sealing the deal against their tryless opponents.

The result should dispel any notion that the Blues stand as title pretenders - rather than title contenders - as they backed up their impressive 30-20 win over the Hurricanes at Eden Park last week with a strong display where many players flourished.

Set to face the Highlanders back at home in seven days' time, the Blues could expect to see another bumper crowd walk through the turnstiles after Saturday night's effort, if the reaction on Twitter is anything to go by.

Many punters have lauded the in-form franchise for their efforts against the Chiefs, who many considered to be favourites given the strength of their squad.

Much of the praise was aimed at MacDonald,  with one user even suggesting that the former Crusaders star is churning the long-underperforming club into a side that could emulate the franchise he won seven Super Rugby titles with.

While MacDonald earned plenty of compliments for the work he's done from the coaching ranks, others took to Twitter to express how impressed they were with the performances of the Auckland side's forward pack.

Among those to have stood out was player of the match Hoskins Sotutu, who has established himself as one of the most promising young players in Super Rugby this year, and has been earmarked as a potential successor to Kieran Read as the All Blacks' No. 8.

Elsewhere, skipper Patrick Tuipulotu was another subject of praise, with one fan going as far to say the 27-year-old - who earlier this week signed a three-year contract extension with New Zealand Rugby - is the best lock on the planet.

Regardless of where Sotutu and Tuipulotu stand in the national set-up, it's clear to see there is plenty of hype surrounding this exciting Blues team, which appears to finally be realising its potential as title candidates after 17 trophy-less years.