Josh Goodhue competes for the ball at lineout time with Sharks captain Ruan Botha. Photo / Photosport
Northland's Josh Goodhue was strong in his starting debut but the Blues find themselves in dire straights after going down 63-40 to the Sharks.
The Blues scored as many tries as their South African opponents but a lopsided penalty count sent them to their fourth defeat in five outings.
Goodhue had an industrious performance in his 60-minute stint, the highlight being twice involved in the setup of the Blues' first try.
He said it was a good experience but it was not a great team performance.
"It's really cool to start but at the end of the day I have a job to do and I just have to keep earning that spot. Hopefully I can hold it for next week," he said.
"I thought we started poorly and we had an opportunity to take the game but the momentum stopped. We just couldn't get the job done.
"I didn't get too much ball come my way. There was one overthrow so I'll look back and see what went wrong there but I was pretty happy with my defence."
After trailing 26-7 at the break, the Blues roared into the lead with three quick tries but again became their own worst enemy as they couldn't maintain the pressure built in those seven minutes.
Goodhue said it was poor on their part.
"We actually just came together and had more licence to play. We started going a bit wider and we saw the benefits of it," he said.
"When their player [Sbu Nkosi] came back from the bin we reverted back and didn't fix the issue."
Fellow Northlanders halfback Sam Nock, flanker Kara Pryor and prop Ross Wright each had solid stints on the field.
Coach Tana Umaga was at pains to describe another defeat, calling the defensive effort "embarrassing".
He said they needed to figure out their game awareness after another defeat.
"The execution of our game-plan wasn't the best as well, and our wayward kicking. We don't help ourselves in that respect. Our game understanding and awareness is still a big work-on," he said.
"Scoring 40 is good but leaking 60 is not. It's not just a system thing, it's an individual thing. Errors, discipline, letting them off when we've put pressure on them and letting them get into spots that make it difficult for us.
"We prepared well and I think you can say the effort was there, it's just the polish on our effort and getting the rewards for that effort they're putting in."
"This competition is unforgiving. It's never-ending. Everyone has got a point to prove and we're no different. We know we can score points, but it's how we stop them. We've got to focus on that this week."
Things don't get any easier for the embattled franchise as they travel to take on the Chiefs in Hamilton next.
Sharks 63 (Ruan Botha, Jean-Luc du Preez, Lubabalo Mtembu, Robert du Preez, Kobus van Wyk, Curwin Bosch tries, Robert du Preez 6 con, 7 pen)
Blues 40 (Michael Collins, Akira Ioane, Patrick Tuipulotu, Stephen Perofeta, Rieko Ioane, George Moala tries, Perofeta 4 con, Bryn Gatland con)
HT: 26-7
The Fijian winger who had the world at his feet and the potential to surpass Jonah Lomu.