All Black Patrick Tuipulotu makes his return from injury for the Blues in their Investec Super Rugby home clash against the Cheetahs at Eden Park on Friday night. Tuipulotu has been sidelined with a back injury since the round six clash against the Force, and comes into the starting line-up with Gerard Cowley-Tuioti moving to […]

Blues player number one, Craig Dowd was an outstanding prop for Auckland, the Blues and the All Blacks in the mid to late 1990s.  Dowd was a reliable lineout option at the front and mobile in the open. He was in two Auckland sides that won the Ranfurly Shield in 1995 and 1996, in national championship winning sides in 1993-96 and […]

The team barely had time to enjoy last week’s decisive victory over the Cheetahs before they were on the plane to Cape Town, where they’ll face the Stormers at 5am on Saturday morning (NZ time). In stark contrast, the Stormers have enjoyed a week of rest and rehabilitation after what can only be described as […]

Boric, an All Blacks lock, played for the Blues between 2006 and 2013 before a neck injury forced him to take a step back from Super Rugby. He travelled over to Japan on a two-year contract with the Mitsubishi Dynaboars, but retired early from injury concerns. His natural athleticism and physical attributes made him an excellent line-out forward choice for both the Blues […]

Daniel Braid had the ill luck to be an open-side flanker playing at the same time as Richie McCaw. But while his test chances were limited, Braid still enjoyed a successful career when he entered Auckland sides in the early 2000s along with his schoolmate Angus Macdonald, who also went on to perform well for […]

Tongan-born Aucklander Pauliasi Manu is back in blue this year after a number of seasons south of the Bombays with the Chiefs. We caught up with the powerful scrummager ahead of our game against the Highlanders in Dunedin. What’s your favourite meal? A full pig on a spit, with taros and heaps of other vegetables. […]

Acknowledged for his leadership ability and no-nonsense approach on the field, Luke led the Blues in the 2014 season. As a player he stood out with his technical ability over the ball, destruction of teams at the breakdown and uncompromising approach.  He earned 79 Super Rugby caps, 9 caps from playing for the Chiefs. At the end of 2014, Luke announced […]

Robin Brooke played some outstanding rugby at lock, especially in the highly successful first two or three seasons. He also provided effective leadership during difficult circumstances in 1999-2001, even though in 2000-01 his international career had come to an end. He finished with 63 Super appearances.