The embattled Super Rugby side attempt to end their five-match losing streak against the Bulls in Pretoria on Sunday.

Was there a ripple of intrigue about Francis Saili's exit for Munster or simply accepting gestures that it was time for the Blues midfield back to move on.

Queensland flanker Liam Gill admits the Reds' desperately poor Super Rugby campaign could cost him and teammates Rugby World Cup spots.

Charles Piutau is still in the All Black frame, but Francis Saili's career has gone mostly downhill.

Francis Saili is heading offshore later this year.

When you're bottom of the pile, you are usually there for some reason. It's no accident you are gazing up at every other team after seven rounds of competition, writes Wynne Gray.

Brodie Retallick's return from injury against the Blues illustrated just why an offshore move could prove an appealing prospect.

Yet another narrow defeat left Sir John Kirwan sure of one thing - sooner or later the Blues are going to make another team pay. And sooner would be preferable.

Justin Marshall writes: If the Blues are going to break their drought before it reaches double figures, it has to be this Friday night at Eden Park.

Sixth and climbing. The surge of the Crusaders on the last leg of their South Africa tour is a warning shot for the rest of the tournament, writes Wynne Gray.

The Crusaders ran riot with eight tries in a 52-10 hammering of the Sharks in South Africa this morning to lay down the biggest marker in round eight of Super Rugby.

Charles Piutau will be a loss to New Zealand rugby, of that there is no doubt, but the last couple of nights have provided ample evidence that the loss will soon be forgotten.

Nearly every player is an All Black and only the No15 jersey is up for grabs each week. Nehe Milner-Skudder is on the way to making that fullback spot his own and could be an All Black one day, too.

It's become a painful business watching the season play out for the Blues, writes Gregor Paul.

Trace the Blues' fluttering form and you could settle on events in the middle of 1998 as the birth of their professional rugby problems.

After missing five weeks - the longest injury lay-off of his professional career - Retallick is back to bolster a Chiefs team that have struggled for consistency in recent weeks.

Wynne Gray writes that, on Super Rugby form, Ben Smith and Charles Piutau must head the selectors' World Cup choices.

In a season full of gloom for the Blues, Josh Bekhuis, a new signing from the Highlanders, is standing out like a fair-haired beacon.

The Hurricanes are yet to taste defeat in 2015 and tonight’s 25-20 win over the Stormers in Wellington took them to their seventh win on the bounce.

Charles Piutau yesterday spoke publicly for the first time since signing with Irish club Ulster rather than the Blues.