A penalty try in the closing minutes has gifted the Chiefs a 21-19 win over the Blues and continued the most lop-sided rivalry in Super Rugby history.

Trailing for most of the second half in Hamilton on Saturday, the home side gradually took control up front and made the decisive play soon after the Blues were reduced to 14 men.

The Chiefs already had an edge at scrum time before lock Josh Goodhue was shown a yellow card.

It was amplified in a series of scrums on the Blues tryline before referee Paul Williams ran out of patience in the 74th minute and ran between the uprights.

The penalty try provided the only points in the second half and handed the Chiefs their fifth successive win.

More notably, it was the 14th successive game without a loss to the Blues - a streak that is longer than any rivalry in the competition's history.

It was a significant improvement on last week's 63-40 hammering from the Sharks in Auckland but the Blues' fifth loss in six matches leaves them some distance behind the rest of the New Zealand conference.

The Chiefs dominated most statistics but were guilty of numerous mistakes in a stop-start affair.

Both teams scored a first-half try, the best coming from Chiefs wing Sean Wainui after Damian McKenzie wrapped around neatly.

Key playmaker McKenzie also kicked three penalties before he left the game on the half-hour mark with an apparent hip injury.

Opposite Stephen Perofeta slotted four penalties for the Blues and converted captain James Parsons' close-range try to put his team 19-14 up at the break.

The Blues will be concerned about injuries to utility back George Moala and Jerome Kaino that forced the Test pair off in the first half.

They face the Sunwolves in Tokyo next week in a match pitting the competition's two bottom-placed teams.

The Chiefs are away to the Hurricanes in a Kiwi conference-topping clash.