Justin Marshall: Crunch game for Blues

Charles Piutau and the Blues were left dejected after their defeat to the Chiefs. Photo / Getty Images

A win against the Brumbies at Eden Park on Friday is vital to build the confidence lacking in narrow defeat.

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

I have no doubt they're more than capable of getting a win - that's shown by their competitiveness in every game so far - but they don't have an easy three weeks coming up.

Which means they have to target the Brumbies on Friday. In the following weeks, they're capable of beating both the Crusaders and the Highlanders, but those teams are much more difficult prospects away from Auckland.

The Brumbies game is their first at Eden Park for the season and what they need is confidence. It's a massive advantage in any sport and, at the moment, the Blues' confidence levels will be low because the pressure just keeps mounting from week to week.

For them to go away and win after Friday night, they need to get some confidence as a team that they can do the job. If not, those ill feelings will remain and the players' confidence when it comes time to win the game won't be where it should be.

Because, as they have been doing all season, the Blues once again got themselves in a position to beat the Chiefs on Saturday night and failed to get across the line.

There was plenty to like about their performance, lots of endeavour and some good individual efforts. But they're not learning from week to week. Just like in the Waratahs game, they were in a promising position to win, and there have been plenty of instances this season when they've been in that same position.

All I can look at is the inexperience in the backline. From Jamison Gibson-Park to Charles Piutau, there are not a lot of Super Rugby caps and even fewer international caps. You can have all the experience in the world in the forwards, but that's only half the job.

That inexperience has been evident throughout their close losses this season. The players are certainly trying hard but I think sometimes they're trying too hard.

There are instances when they're trying to get the job done too quickly, which also means they're making poor decisions at times where they should be more composed. But that tends to happen when you're searching for that elusive victory.

I sympathise - I've been in that predicament before. We had a bit of a slump one year with the Crusaders where we couldn't buy a win. We were trying our guts out and nothing we could do would get us that result.

They have enough quality in that side not to be sitting where they are. And I think that's probably the thing that's irking people the most - they're showing plenty of promise and spirit in the games they're playing.

But the criticism surrounding the team will be going nowhere until they get that win. Obviously it's justified - when you're not winning games and you're at the bottom of the table, you'll be talked about negatively.

Do I have the key to unlock how they'll get that win? I don't. They're showing enough but when that win's there to be banked, they're not doing it.