KEY POINTS:
Anyone suggesting a month ago the Blues would struggle to make the Super 14 playoffs would have risked derision.
They had eradicated much of the flaky play which marred their previous three seasons, they had gelled strongly, been blessed with few injuries and embraced their reconditioned All Blacks.
Like every side in the competition, the Blues had issues but they had gone through Easter leading the series with a solitary defeat and were four games from the financial rewards of semifinals rugby.
One more victory would guarantee that status.
It has been a long month. The wait continues and a further slip tonight for the Blues in the final pool match against the Force in Perth could eliminate them from the playoffs.
Successive losses to the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls have ramped up the pressure, given hope to their rivals and raised the drama considerably for tonight's match.
Performance under pressure. Never have those three words meant more to the Blues this season than now.
Have the Blues retained enough self-belief to reverse the slide inflicted by the South African teams, can they tweak their game enough to outwit the improving Force, how have the coaching staff prepared them for this sudden-death occasion?
After consistently bullying rival packs, the Blues were victims against the Sharks and against the Stormers as well. They recovered that combative sting for serious chunks of the game against the Bulls and it must be on show again tonight.
Scrum and lineout solidity are a must and No 8 Nick Williams has been picked to create some momentum with his ball-carrying. The Force have shown the results of detailed coaching from John Mitchell, they are increasingly organised but a destructive playmaker like Williams can unravel those plans. However it is more behind the scrum where the remedial work needs to happen. The attack has faltered, the mistakes have risen as the rush defences of the South African sides have gathered impetus.
In response, the Blues have set their backline deeper to try to outflank the tacklers but with few inside channel runners to then worry them, the defenders have just drifted and cramped the dangerous Blues backs.
Force five-eighths Matt Giteau will also have seen how, in their recent defeats, the Blues shortcomings in returning kicks was exposed. Neither George Pisi nor Ben Atiga at fullback are great tactical kickers, so a kick and strong chasing line from the Force can be expected.
While Isa Nacewa has worked hard on his fulltime switch to pivot, he also struggles with his tactical kicking. The return of Luke McAlister should help a great deal with that workload and some variety on attack.
The Force have shown they can muscle up this season by beating the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls.
But there is also evidence that the Force can be exposed by crisp, attacking continuity like the Crusaders and Chiefs inflicted on them, the sort of work the Blues threatened in the first two-thirds of the Super 14.
