The Blues, back at Eden Park after their two-match trip to Australia, have a significant milestone in their sights – a record winning streak, which they could complete before the playoffs.
Currently on nine straight wins after losing their first match of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season to the Hurricanes in a thriller in Dunedin, they need four more to break their record of 12 consecutive wins set in 1997, the year they won their second title.
They are entitled to feel confident about beating their next opponents – the Rebels, who have enjoyed only three victories this season - on Friday night. Unfortunately for the Melbourne side, the recent resurgence by the Australian teams against Kiwi opposition has not extended to them.
The Blues have accumulated their victories with a mixture of style and composure; the latter a little unusual for a side which has become synonymous with under-achievement and flakiness, but they possess a new steeliness this season and, after beating the Crusaders in Christchurch, are well worth their No.1 spot on the table.
Their most recent victory - a 22-18 win over the Force in Perth – came with a little luck. Had Bayley Kuenzle converted Bo Abra’s 77th minute try on Saturday night, the result may have been different given the Force spent the rest of the match camped in the Blues’ 22m area. Kuenzle also missed the conversions for his team’s other two tries.
It was, though, a game they may have lost in the not-too-distant past, and with Akira Ioane playing his first match of the season after recovering from a foot injury, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck looking increasingly comfortable after his conversion from league, an increasingly efficient pack and a deep squad, head coach Leon MacDonald's transformation in conjunction with assistants, including former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, continues.
The Blues’ biggest challenges will come in the playoffs as they bid to win a first genuine Super Rugby title (after their trans-Tasman win last year) for the first time since 2003.
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After the Rebels they face the Reds at Eden Park, a fixture they should in theory prevail in, before returning to Australia to play the rapidly improving Brumbies, who have recently beaten the Highlanders and Hurricanes, in Canberra, and Waratahs, who beat the Crusaders last weekend, in Sydney.
For that fortnight in Australia, the finals will feel tantalisingly close and a slight lack of focus would be understandable, albeit not condoned by the coaching staff.
The other element to the equation is how effective they are in the sudden-death post-season, where different pressures apply.
On Wednesday, assistant coach Daniel Halangahu said their drop in standards recently against the Fijian Drua in Melbourne and Force had been talked about. A similar drop against the Rebels and others would not be disastrous for their title hopes but it could lead to the snapping of a record that would be one to savour given the Blues’ inconsistency over the past 20 years or so.
"We don't make excuses, but we know it was a huge few weeks for us leading into that with the Chiefs and Crusaders away,” Halangahu said referring to the Blues’ second-half slump in Perth.
“There was always going to be a little dip in the energy we put into it because it took a lot to come through those games. We're happy we've done those games and done that leg, but now we want to put in a performance that the people of this region are proud of.
"We’re respecting what the Rebels have done. They’re a team that’s pushed sides over recent weeks and been unlucky in a number of games. They’re one of the few teams who can boast about travelling across the ditch and having a win at Eden Park so that's in the back of our memories – that they’ve come here and had success and that hurts our team when we have recent history of someone having one over us, so we'll be going out there to correct that."
In other player news, Stephen Perofeta will start at No.10 for the Blues against the Rebels as Beauden Barrett is on an All Black rest week.
Former All Blacks and Crusaders prop Owen Franks will play for the Hurricanes against the Fijian Drua in Wellington on Sunday afternoon. Veteran hooker Dane Coles also returns for the Hurricanes after injury.
The Chiefs could welcome back co-captain Sam Cane to their line-up, baby situation depending, in what is looming as the match of the round against the Brumbies in Hamilton on Saturday.
Richie Mo’unga returns to the Crusaders’ No.10 jersey for their match against the Force in Perth on Saturday.
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