First take: Is this the beginning of the end for John Kirwan?

Charles Piutau of the Blues getting tagged by Torsten van Jaarsveld of the Cheetahs. Photo / Getty Images

Cheetahs 25 Blues 24

John Kirwan's shaky tenure at the Blues has hit serious trouble.

Two disappointing seasons are already blending into a third. In the final wash up, the latest loss to the Cheetahs might be seen as the beginning of the end for Kirwan.

The Blues are as maddening and unreliable as they ever were, and have started 2015 with three consecutive losses.

They can look like the best team in Super Rugby and the worst all in the space of a few minutes and Kirwan appears powerless to change this personality trait which has dogged the Blues for years. The simple fact is that Kirwan has made no progress.

All Black coach Steve Hansen should be quite pleased with what he saw. Giant forwards Charlie Faumuina and Patrick Tuipulotu showed out with their power and skills, as did utility back Charles Piutau.

But as is so often the case, skill doesn't flourish properly in the Blues because the structures aren't there.

Most of the really memorable moments in this game were provided by the ball-playing Blues. Tuipulotu crushed the Cheetahs at times. Faumuina produced a lovely low pick-up off a Tuipulotu bust for a try. Faumuina, the most skilled prop in world rugby despite his size, almost created another through a wonderful offload although it was correctly ruled forward. Piutua was often close to cutting loose.

But we all know what talent lies within the Blues' catchment area. Finding a way to make it work is the trick and it's just not happening, yet again.

The Cheetahs produced a couple of lovely moments of their own but in the main, they always looked like a team on the verge of being outgunned. And yet they walked away with the winner's points.