First Take: Relief for everyone, the Blues' season is over

Aaron Smith about to pass at Eden Park during the Blues v Highlanders Super Rugby 12 June 2015 New Zealand Herald photo by Jason Dorday.

Blues 7
Highlanders 44

Relief, for everyone. The Blues are done, we don't have to watch their repeated inability to cope with Super Rugby this season. They couldn't even raise a whimper for their champion Keven Mealamu.

This time the Highlanders danced all the tunes they wanted on a slippery Eden Park, once a fortress for the Blues and now a place most are avoiding.

Uncertainty met confidence as the Highlanders 44-7 bonus point victory pushed them towards a home playoffs match next week.

The Blues trudged off past their long-suffering supporters into reviews about their ability to cope with this level of rugby next year. Those appraisals will be unpleasant reading which is one of the few unshakeable verdicts about the Blues.

At halftime coach John Kirwan said it was the worst 40 minutes of the season. A fulltime assessment would not have been any better.

The Blues can't decide on next year's coach and that administrative indecision is reflected in their work on the paddock.

In contrast the Highlanders looked like they knew what they were doing. Some of their top dogs were missing but their rugby plan for the tough conditions was strong and delivered.

They have done something similar most of the tournament, playing a game based on sound basics topped with the magic of a strong back four directed by rising five eighths Lima Sopoaga.

That's rugby as we used to know it with the Blues at Eden Park.