KEY POINTS:
How moods change. A month ago the Blues were provoking fear among Super 14 teams, now everyone reckons they have the formula to conquer the spluttering franchise.
The latest to make that public assertion was Brumbies skipper Stirling Mortlock although the burly centre has probably never considered failure in any game in his celebrated career. Two matches into his comeback after shoulder surgery, the Brumbies are on the edge of the top four in this year's Super 14.
Mortlock and his mates were stimulated by the way their Waratah cousins dismantled the Blues last week and are bringing some of that template to Eden Park today in their bid to rally their campaign and put a further dent in the Blues' semifinal prospects.
Another loss for the Brumbies will sever contact with the group chasing the final four places. Defeat would not be fatal but they would need a lot of help to squeeze into the play-offs.
The Blues do not face such dire consequences but their psyche has been bruised - they are struggling to return to their strong opening form.
Rivals have worked out how to stifle them and where they are vulnerable, while they have suffered when playmakers Isa Nacewa and Nick Evans haven't been available.
Nacewa will provide a lift when he returns after a five-week spell for a damaged knee but his teammates need to raise their game as well.
The Blues have become too predictable and they are starting to tail off as they did last season. For weeks they have spoken about a belief they can recover their sting but the evidence has been scant.
That has given sides such as the Brumbies more of an incentive. Mortlock highlighted how the Waratahs were rewarded for being very physical at the breakdown while coach Laurie Fisher also praised their work.
"They just played with a good level of physicality, presented numbers in the line, went forward, made their tackles, went hard at Nick Evans, retained possession well and the Blues were ill-disciplined and gave away a lot of penalties in the first half," he said.
Meanwhile the Brumbies fell to the attacking intent of the Chiefs and had it not been for an amazing contribution by George Smith, they would have been totally cleaned out.
This is a game where the Blues should open up their attacking armoury, where they decide on a greater risk and reward approach than they have been using. But to achieve that the front five has to detonate while Daniel Braid and co have to nullify Smith. If those deeds are done, Evans has many attacking options.
