KEY POINTS:
Rugby talent has ebbed away regularly from the Blues. Think Ron Cribb, Mose Tuiali'i, Ali Williams, Sione Lauaki, Craig Newby, Mils Muliaina, and Rico Gear.
So it was rewarding when Nick Evans decided to reverse the trend, or at least "come home", after four seasons with the Highlanders. It was also timely as he filled the problem first five-eighths role for the Blues, one which has troubled the Blues since the tailend of Carlos Spencer's career.
Evans and the experimental laws arrived together this season in a package which has dovetailed superbly for the Super 14 frontrunners. In just three games Evans has underlined his potency and the influence he can have on those playing around him.
It is a mix which has brought all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings for coach David Nucifora and supplications to all sorts of deities that Evans stays fit and healthy for the series journey. Especially with backup No 10 Isa Nacewa under specialist care for a knee injury.
So far, so good. Evans has not suffered any of the shoulder or leg injuries which have been a regular inconvenience during his career.
The last time was at the All Blacks' fateful World Cup quarter-final in Cardiff five months ago.
Evans and his opposite, Frederic Michalak were both on the bench, players who would make a different kind of impact when they made their entrances in the final quarter.
Evans came on, made one stunning break and then left with a damaged hamstring while Michalak accepted the forward pass which ended in the try that killed off the All Blacks.
On Sunday, in Durban, they meet again as first choice playmakers for the unbeaten Blues and Sharks - the repatriated Evans and hired help Michalak.
The Frenchman, who is only 25 but has already played double that number of tests, was at the core of the Sharks late escape victory last week against the Bulls, showing what value he can add after Butch James' exit.
Equally, Evans has shown the flair and direction which injury and some uncertain times at the Highlanders, curtailed. Quizzed on his impact under the new laws he ducked the question.
"I just kind of sit in the pocket and go along for the ride and try and put us in the right positions," he said. "I'm probably not making too many more decisions than I have before. I have a lot of experience around me and one of our strengths is our forwards. I'm just being like an NFL quarterback, putting us in the right position and calling a few plays. The boys are doing the rest.
"I don't think the new rules have changed the decision making so much as they have changed the lung capacity."
The Blues intend to continue their pursuit of an all-action, high-tempo style against the Sharks, a style which has earned them maximum points and raised questions about whether they can be halted before the playoffs.
Last year the Blues were going along tidily until they met the Sharks' tactical approach and Stu Dickinson's indifferent refereeing at Albany halted the Blues' march. They did not recover well from that and four games later lost to the Sharks again in the semifinals.
If the Blues are to continue their victorious ways, their pack will have to muscle up as they did against the Cheetahs while the defensive channels will have to be tighter than those which leaked four tries in Bloemfontein.
But it will be the whiz-bang-wallop in the backline - the attacking venom from Evans in close to Joe Rokocoko out wide - which the Blues must capitalise on. There is no back-off in that backline.
Sharks midfielder Bradley Barritt said the secret was to combat the Blues' pack and shut down their space with aggressive defence.
That is a shade harder under the new laws which require both backlines to stand 5m behind their scrums, a change Evans said had assisted the Blues.
"I think it has taken three rounds for people to work out ways to defend," he said. "Strike moves will become less, I think, so it is up to us to come up with new ways to exploit the laws."
Blues
Ben Atiga, Anthony Tuitavake, Isaia Toeava, Benson Stanley, Joe Rokocoko, Nick Evans, Danny Lee, Nick Williams, Justin Collins, Jerome Kaino, Troy Flavell (captain), Kurtis Haiu, John Afoa, Kven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: Tom McCartney, Nick White, Anthony Boric, Onosai Tololima-Auva'a, Taniela Moa, Rudi Wulf, George Pisi.
