It's desperation time for the Blues. After the Chiefs' win over the Hurricanes in Hamilton on Friday night, the pressure is on the Blues to come away with at least a point from their clash against the Crusaders in Christchurch this afternoon.
The Blues sit five points behind the Chiefsin the race for the final. The two teams meet in the final round robin next weekend but, as the Chiefs have five wins while the Blues have three, coming away with nothing against the Crusaders will eliminate the Blues from contention.
It's been a tough run over the last month for the Blues, who have lost three of their last four games, two of those by fewer than seven points.
While they have had some bright moments with ball in hand, they have often let the opposition off the hook through their poor discipline and, at times, inability to execute their attack.
Blues coach Leon MacDonald said his side know how important the Crusaders clash is, and where they need to show signs of improvement.
"There's a desperation, I think, in every team and there's no doubt there's desperation with us," MacDonald said.
"We want to go and put that performance on. We're doing a lot right and we are still scoring four tries a game, which is an improvement from last year, yet we're not getting home in some of these close games which is disappointing. It's the smaller things we've got to get right now, not the big things.
"It's discipline, it's making sure that we make the right decisions at the right times when we've got teams under pressure. It's about creating pressure and not letting them off the hook. So, all those things are going to be critical.
"We don't want to chuck the baby out with the bath water and start again; I think that's a silly thing to do. We just need to be better in certain areas that we've identified."
The equation for the Blues to qualify for the Super Rugby Aotearoa final has some scratching their heads. Photo / Getty Images
The last time the Blues and Crusaders met, the Christchurch outfit comfortably saw off the Blues 43-27. However, the four-time defending champions have had struggles of their own in recent weeks, losing two of their past three games.
The Crusaders have already secured their place in the final, thanks to the Blues and Chiefs having to play against each other next weekend while they enjoy the bye, however a win against the Blues would see the Crusaders put their title on the line on home soil.
For the Blues, the equation is more complex. With a win over the Crusaders, it will all come down to next weekend's clash with the Chiefs to see who gets the second final spot.
If they lose by seven points or fewer to earn a bonus point, they will be four points back from the Chiefs and still have hope. In that situation, the Blues would then need to get a bonus-point win over the Chiefs – scoring three tries more than the Hamilton team – to overtake them. If the Chiefs lost, but by a small enough margin to get a bonus point, or did enough to stop the Blues getting a bonus-point win, they would progress due to the tiebreaker of having more wins.
The Blues' final equation
Lose to the Crusaders by more than seven points: Eliminated from contention
Lose to the Crusaders by seven points or fewer: They would stay alive, but require a bonus-point win over the Chiefs next weekend to make the final. Anything less and the Chiefs would progress.
Beat the Crusaders: The race would be decided when the Blues play the Chiefs next weekend, with the winner sealing a berth in the final.
