The Blues blew the Force off the field in the first quarter in Perth overnight, grabbing a rare Super Rugby win on the road.

Despite the extremely high level Jerome Kaino reached on his return to the All Blacks against England, he feels he let himself down in the third test in Hamilton.

There's a light and dark shade for Charles Piutau about rugby in New Plymouth.

John Kirwan is preparing to receive a high-powered reinforcement in the form of returning fullback Charles Piutau

Loose forward Luke Braid will see out the Blues' season and then go under the knife, possibly on both his shoulders, which have troubled him the last two years.

The Blues have secured their spot in the 2024 Super Rugby finals, beating the Brumbies 34-20. Video / Sky Sport

Ihaia West's performance in the Blues' big victory over the Hurricanes on Saturday night proved he is not only at home at this level.

The Blues will be denied access to their most influential and arguably best asset until round eight of Super Rugby next year, as Eden Park is off-limits until early April due to the Cricket World Cup.

Relive all the action from the Super Rugby clash between the Blues and the Hurricanes from Eden Park in Auckland

Ihaia West could be the next roll of the dice for the Blues as they seek a first five-eighths with the attacking instincts to ignite their backline.

Apart from their slip-up to the Blues at Eden Park at the start, winning away this season hasn't been an issue for the Crusaders.

Ihaia West may have done enough against the Sharks to be handed his first start for the Blues this week when they take on the Hurricanes.

These last two weeks for the Blues have been a bit like watching the Titanic sink.

Watch a replay of our live blog of the Blues taking on the Sharks in Super Rugby action from Albany Stadium.

The Blues, in desperate need of competition points to keep their slim chance of a play-off place alive, will probably be wishing for a venue change on Friday.

John Kirwan is advocating the return of transfer fees so Auckland and the Blues do not continue to be castigated for losing players they may have helped develop.

Of all the things it's easy to imagine the 1.98m, 120kg Patrick Tuipulotu being, scared is not one of them.

The Blues future is easy enough to predict with five games of this campaign left.

The Blues probably lack a genuine team culture and departing Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett failed to understand the region he represented, according to Massey rugby researcher Jeremy Hapeta.

If the recent defeat to the Chiefs marked the death knell for the Blues' season, the haemorrhaging started last year.

The loss to the Chiefs not only extended the Blues' away losing record to 13 in a row, it also effectively ended their chances of making the playoffs.

The ball-carrying power of Patrick Tuipulotu has been noted by the All Black selectors who will almost certainly name the Blues lock in their wider training squad on Monday.

The Chiefs picked their new home to display some of their old form and seize control of the New Zealand conference.

Join us here for tonight's live blog of the Super Rugby clash between the Blues and the Chiefs in New Plymouth.