Rugby: Chiefs offer some redemption as Blues fall from title race

Blues midfielder Sonny Bill Williams, on the burst against the Stormers, must lead from front against his former team at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport

The Blues' playoffs hopes are all but over but Tana Umaga's men can still play an important role in this competition, starting next Friday against the Chiefs.

A defeat at Eden Park for Dave Rennie's men after their loss to the Crusaders in Fiji wouldn't be fatal to their finals chances by any stretch, but it would allow the second-placed Hurricanes to further move ahead of them on the points table. Currently, both teams are on 43 competition points, with the Hurricanes on top thanks to their superior points differential, despite the fact the Chiefs beat them in Hamilton in March.

Every team in the playoff hunt will be desperate to finish as high as they can in order to push for home advantage, and the difference for the Chiefs could be as significant as a trip to South Africa rather than playing the Brumbies in Canberra, and they would hope for the latter.

Last year the Blues didn't play consistently well until their final three matches, by which time they were out of the finals race. The pressure was off and they played accordingly.

They were unlucky to lose to the Stormers in Cape Town yesterday. Their list of complaints against referee Jaco van Heerden will be lengthy, but the other side of the equation is that they twice held leads of nine points. It goes without saying that a more ruthless team would have put the South Africans away but that is a side of their game that they have struggled with for years.

Coach Tana Umaga has made improvements - his players clearly have a plan and they are responding - but while they have men with the attacking talents of Charlie Faumuina, Akira Ioane, Rieko Ioane, Augustine Pulu and Sonny Bill Williams, they still do not possess the ability to grind out victories against the odds.

The Crusaders' victory against the Chiefs at Suva's ANZ Stadium broke a sequence of four defeats by their old rivals and was a perfect pointer for the Blues in terms of determination. The see-sawing match lived up to the hype and while Scott Robertson's men leaked four tries, it was their defence in the second half, allied to the running game of their No10 Richie Mo'unga, which got them home.

The turnaround, after Aaron Cruden and Damian McKenzie were threatening to rip them open before the break, was remarkable and a testament to the belief, fitness and team spirit that Robertson has overseen in his first year in charge.

It was a night in which their championship credentials were proven once again. A home match against the Highlanders, and away game against the Hurricanes, are looming as key, but the odds on them winning a first title since 2008 are shortening by the week.

The Blues, after their treatment at the hands of the officials at Newlands, will be relieved to play at home again. The Chiefs have lost only twice this season, but they have wobbled under pressure and battled to wins against the lowly Rebels, Force and Sunwolves.

It's a match in which the Blues' experienced players must show the way, and it is their last opportunity to beat a New Zealand team this season. They are 0-5 against Kiwi teams in 2017, a record which cost them dearly in the end.