The Blues, disappointed again at their inability to finish off a top side away from home, are now taking a must-win approach to all of their remaining eight round-robin matches this season.
Unfortunately for them perhaps after they came up short in the second half of their 26-20 defeat to the Highlanders in Dunedin, their next fixture is against the high-flying Hurricanes, a team with one of the best attacks in the competition.
A small positive is the fact they will be playing at Eden Park but, at the halfway stage of the competition, and the Blues dropping to 10th on the table and the bottom of the New Zealand conference, it is desperation time for a team not playing anywhere near their potential.
It is the promise of hope which must hurt their supporters the most. They looked like a different side to the one which stuttered past the lowly Force when they raced to a 20-10 lead against the southerners thanks to an attacking edge provided by halfback Augustine Pulu, wing Matt Duffie and fullback Michael Collins which lead to tries to prop Charlie Faumuina and lock Gerard Cowley-Tuioti.
But once the pressure came on in the second half, their set piece wilted and the turnovers came. There was even a negative to be found in Sonny Bill Williams' late stunning break and offload to prop Sam Prattley. A pass from Prattley to one of the two unmarked players outside him would have resulted in a try and potentially a different result. Instead, Prattley went into contact and the chance was lost.