Blues

Union	New Zealand Rugby Union
Nickname(s)	The Blues
Founded	1996; 29 years ago (1996)
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
Region	Auckland North Harbour Northland
Ground(s)	Eden Park (Capacity: 50,000)
Coach(es)	Vern Cotter
Captain(s)	Patrick Tuipulotu
Mostcaps	Keven Mealamu (164)
Top scorer	Adrian Cashmore (617)
League(s)	Super Rugby Pacific
2024	Playoffs: Champions 2nd overall
Teamkit
Official website
www.blues.rugby

TheBlues (Māori:Kahurangi;^[1] known as theAuckland Blues from 1996 to 1999) are a New Zealand professionalrugby union team based inAuckland, who play in theSuper Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established by theNZRU in 1996. One of the most successful teams in Super Rugby history, the Blues won the competition in its first two seasons, 1996 and 1997, and again in 2003 and 2024. Additionally, the team were finalists in 1998 and 2022,^[2] and semi-finalists in 2007, 2011 and 2023. They won aTrans Tasman competition in 2021.

Along with New Zealand's other Super Rugby sides, the Blues were established by theNew Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to take part in the newly formed Super 12 competition which, involved teams from South Africa and Australia in addition to New Zealand. Each of New Zealand's five sides represented a number of provincial unions, with the Blues representing theAuckland,Counties Manukau andThames Valley unions, while the neighbouringWaikato Chiefs representing theWaikato,Bay of Plenty,King Country,Northland andNorth Harbour unions. As the amount of international representatives in the Auckland region was thought to be unfair, it was split up between The Blues and The Chiefs. During this era, the Blues played the majority of their home matches atEden Park, with round robin fixtures occasionally held atGrowers Stadium inPukekohe.

The Blues tasted immediate success, winning theSuper 12 back-to-back in 1996 and 1997. In 1996 the side won eight of eleven round robin matches and finished the regular season in second place (behind theQueensland Reds on 41 points. They then went on to defeat Northern Transvaaal, now theBulls, 48–11 in the semi-final atEden Park. This result secured a home final, where the Blues comfortably defeated theSharks 45–21. In 1997, the side improved on their previous season, comfortably topping the table with 50 points after going undefeated in the regular season, the sole blemish on an otherwise perfect season being a draw with Northern Transvaal in a re-match of the previous season's semi-final. The Blues once again easily won their semi-final, defeating theSharks 55–36 atEden Park and again securing a home final. The 1997 final was a more hard-fought encounter than the previous year's, with the Blues defeating theACT Brumbies 23–7.

By the end of the 1990s the number of international representatives from the Blues region had decreased. This led the Blues and the Chiefs to arrange a swap, where the Chiefs would represent theThames Valley andCounties Manukau provincial unions in exchange for the Blues representing theNorthland andNorth Harbour unions in addition toAuckland. Although in the seasons leading up to the tradeNorth Harbour andNorthland had outperformedCounties Manukau andThames Valley in provincial rugby (thus potentially widening the already sizeable gap between the Blues' and Chiefs' on-field performance), it enabled both teams to represent unions in closer geographical proximity. Because of this trade, the Blues lost the area colloquially referred to asSouth Auckland, (excluding those portions of the South Auckland to the north ofManurewa). Thus, the Blues traded a portion of South Auckland for the Northern portion of theAuckland region andNorthland, and still do not represent theentire Auckland region. Generally supporters in the South Auckland region identify as Blues supporters even though they are technically in the Chiefs region. In 2000, the Auckland Blues dropped the Auckland prefix from their name, and became known simply as "Blues".

The 1998 season saw the Blues again top the points table with 43 points at the conclusion of the round robin, with nine wins and two losses to their credit. They defeated theOtago Highlanders by 37–31 in the side's third consecutive home semi-final, securing a home final against theCrusaders, a match which promised a great deal due to Auckland's traditional sporting rivalry with Canterbury. The Crusaders ultimately won the match by 20–13, putting an end to the Blues' dominance of the competition.^{[citation needed]}

From 1999 – 2002 the Blues' onfield performance was poor, missing the playoffs every season, finishing at an all-time low of 11th on the ladder in2001 with just four wins for the season. The club was able to turn its from around in the2003 season, topping the ladder with 49 points and 10 wins from 11 matches. The team went on to defeat theACT Brumbies by 42–21 in the semi-final, before beating the Crusaders 21–17 in the final for the team's thirdSuper Rugby title. The Blues were unable to follow their 2003 success up in 2004 and 2005 however, missing the playoffs in both seasons.^{[citation needed]}

The expanded 14 team competition could not have started worse for the Blues, who were in 2006 forced by the NZRU to includeNorth Harbour captainRua Tipoki in their squad of 24 players who are 'protected' from the draft. Tipoki was originally to be excluded from the draft due to personal circumstances to stay in Auckland.Andrew Mehrtens had in the past done this with the Crusaders. The NZRU however forced coach David Nucifora to pick Tipoki in his 24-man squad and hence drop another player. It is believed the NZRU was in favour of dropping players such asIsa Nacewa who are ineligible to play for the All Blacks.^[3] Instead, Nucifora excluded All BlackIsaia Toeava, who subsequently played for theHurricanes in 2006. Following the draft fiasco, and the forgettable season which followed, the Blues showed signs of resurgence in 2007, finishing the round robin in fourth place, securing a semi-final against theSharks in Durban. The travel and form of the opposition were too difficult to overcome, however, with the Blues losing 34–18 to the eventual runners-up. The 2008 season, the final under coachDavid Nucifora, saw the team finish the season with an 8–5 record and a sixth-place finish on the ladder. In 2009,Pat Lam was appointed as coach, however the team was not able to make significant improvements under his leadership for the remainder of Super 14, missing the playoffs in both the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

In 2011 the Super Rugby competition was expanded to 15 teams and adopted a conference format. The Blues had a successful start to the season, defeating the Crusaders by 24–22 atEden Park. This was followed by a win and a loss on their South African tour, followed by a 22–22 draw against theWestern Force in Perth. This was followed by a seven match winning streak between rounds five and twelve. However, the mid-season winning streak came to an abrupt end with a 37–31 loss to theQueensland Reds in Brisbane, which initiated a four-match losing streak. In the final round-robin match of the season, the Blues defeated theHighlanders by 33–16 atEden Park, securing the side's first playoff appearance since 2007 and first home playoff match since 2003. The team subsequently defeated theNew South Wales Waratahs 26 – 13 to secure a semi-final against theQueensland Reds in Brisbane, which they lost 30–13.

The 2011 season also marked the departure ofKurtis Haiu, who was diagnosed with a bone tumour in April.^[4] Following his diagnosis, he took an indefinite break from rugby to focus on his health.^[5]

2012, the team's fourth season under coachPat Lam, saw the arrival of formerHurricanes icons, and2011 Rugby World Cup winners,Ma'a Nonu andPiri Weepu. The regular season began on 24 February against the Crusaders atEden Park. Following two successive losses to start the season, the side's first victory came away to theBulls, with starting debutantGareth Anscombe scoring all of the Blues points in the 29–23 win. In doing so, Anscombe set a team record for most points in a match.^[6] In the same match,Rene Ranger became the first Blues player to receive awhite card, which resulted in a two-week suspension. Seven consecutive losses followed, beginning with theStormers in round four, and finishing with theHurricanes in round eleven. Growing frustration among fans was evident during this period, with racist remarks directed at coachPat Lam via social media, talkback radio and the Blues own website.^[7][8] Lam, who is ofSamoan descent, received support from a number of former Blues players during this period, includingMichael Jones andEroni Clarke.^[8] After beating theLions in round twelve, the Blues suffered the biggest defeat in club history with a 59 – 12 loss away to the Crusaders, which was followed by losses at home to theHighlanders and table-toppingChiefs. The Blues finished the season on a high note, with wins against theWestern Force andBrumbies.

On 17 July,Pat Lam was released. On the same day,Sir John Kirwan was appointed as head coach for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.^[9] In August, the Blues' full coaching staff for the 2013 season was announced, withSir Graham Henry taking on a role as technical advisor and defensive coach, Mick Byrne appointed forwards and kicking coach, and Grant Doorey appointed skills and backline coach.^[10]

The 2013 season saw an all new Blues team with many players leaving, includingMa'a Nonu to theHighlanders^[11] andGareth Anscombe to theChiefs.^[12] On the morning of 31 October 2012 new coachSir John Kirwan announced the 2013 Blues squad which included 14Super Rugby debutants, andAli Williams taking over as captain.^[13] Handed a bye on the first round the Blues started the regular season on 23 February 2013 with a 34–20 away win against theHurricanes, followed by a 34–15 home win against the Crusaders the next week. Three consecutive losses followed, including theBulls' first victory atEden Park.^[14] The Blues regained some form again, winning four of the next five games. Beating theHighlanders at home and completing the double over theHurricanes with a 28–6 win atEden Park before losing a close game against theReds. The Blues then defeated both theStormers and theRebels before losing 3 games in a row to the Crusaders,Brumbies, andHighlanders respectively. The Blues then travelled to South Africa with two must win games against theSharks and theCheetahs, unfortunately losing both and ending the Blues chances of making the play-offs.Ali Williams played his 100th game for the Blues against theSharks.^[15] The Blues returned to New Zealand with a last home game against the already play-off qualifiedChiefs. Despite a red card toKane Barrett for stomping in the 23rd minute, the Blues played a remarkably strong game, taking the lead just after half-time but a yellow card to first-fiveBaden Kerr struck another blow for the Blues. The mounting Chiefs pressure paid off resulting in aBen Tameifuna try with 17 minutes to go, winning the game for the Chiefs. The Blues walked off the field to a standing ovation from their fans, the first time an Eden Park crowd had been upstanding for a defeat.^[16]

The Blues finished the season in 10th place, with six players earning call-ups to theNew Zealand national team, the All Blacks, andFrank Halai as the team's top try scorer scoring 10 tries in his debut season. They signed international super starBenji Marshall for the 2014 season (only to return to league with theDragons halfway through it) and Ma'a Nonu for two seasons starting in 2014.

The Blues 2014 season started with coachSir John Kirwan announcing six new players to the squad including three All Blacks with the return ofMa'a Nonu andTony Woodcock after they both played with theHighlanders for a season, andJerome Kaino. This also included formerNational Rugby League (NRL) playerBenji Marshall who had previously played with theWests Tigers for 10 years.^[17]

The Blues season started with an away loss to theHighlanders, going down 29–21. The next week they played their first home game of the season atEden Park, defeating the Crusaders 35–24. They travelled to South Africa for two games against theSharks and theLions, losing both games but coming away with a losing bonus point against the Lions. They returned to New Zealand for two home games against theCheetahs and the Highlanders, both of which they won bringing the up to 6th place on the ladder. The team travelled toCanberra to face theBrumbies and were defeated 26–9, and were defeated again by theHurricanes inWellington after a bye week. This was followed by two home games against theWaratahs and theReds, winning both and coming away with a bonus point win against the Reds. They then lost their next two games going down to theChiefs and theSharks, picking up a losing bonus point against the Sharks. They returned to Eden park to defeat the Hurricanes, followed by a bonus point win inPerth against theWestern Force. This put them into 8th place on the ladder with two games to play in the regular season before finals, needing to place in the top 6 for a spot in the play-offs. They lost to the Crusaders inChristchurch, therefore to make the finals they needed to win their final game against the Chiefs who were in the same situation. They lost their final game against the Chiefs going down 11–8, putting them out of the finals and ending a six-game winning streak at Eden Park for the season. The Blues finished 10th overall and 5th place in the New Zealand conference.^[18]

Ihaia West,Patrick Tuipulotu,Benji Marshall, andTom Donnelly all made their Super Rugby debut for the Blues in the 2014 season.

The 2015 season started with coach Sir John Kirwan announcing the Blues squad, with the inclusion of 11 new players after losing 12 players includingMa'a Nonu andPiri Weepu, who both played over 100 super rugby games.^[19]

The Blues season started with a loss to theChiefs, going down 23–18, picking up a losing bonus point. This was followed by an unsuccessful tour of South Africa, going down to theStormers andCheetahs, coming away with a single bonus point from a 25–24 loss to the Cheetahs. This was followed by four consecutive losses against theLions,Hurricanes,Waratahs and Chiefs, 3 of which they picked up a losing bonus point. Their first win of the season came against theBrumbies at Eden Park with a 16–14 victory, ending the Blues 9 game losing streak. This was followed by consecutive losses against theHighlanders and Crusaders, picking up a bonus point against the Highlanders. This was followed by a strong 41–24 win against theForce. Their next game against theRebels was their final away game of the season, they lost 42–22, ending the season with no away wins, having only won two away games in the last three years. Their final four games were all at home with high hopes of finishing the season on a high. They won the first game 23–18 against the South African conference leaders theBulls, however this was their last win of the season going down in their final three games against the Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders. This ended the franchises worst super rugby season,^[20] ending in 14th place ahead of the Force, with just 3 from 16 wins for the season.

The end of the season was marked by the resignation of coach Sir John Kirwan, who had been with the team for the last three years winning just 17 out of 58 games. The Blues signed former All Black captainTana Umaga to replace Sir John Kirwan as head coach of the Blues.^[21]

The Blues endured yet another disappointing year in 2016, although there were some improvements. A close first round win over the Highlanders by 33–31 was followed by successive losses to the Crusaders (28–13) and Hurricanes (19–23). A 25–25 draw with the Reds in Round 4 was followed by a 24–16 win over the Jaguares in Round 6 (Round 5 being a bye). A week later the Blues lost to the Chiefs by 23–29, but bounced back with wins over the Sharks (23–18), Rebels (36–30) and Kings (34–18). A 43–5 loss to eventual finalists the Lions was followed by a tight 17–13 win over the Force. Another tight game resulted in a 21–26 loss to the Crusaders, while a yet another loss followed against the Hurricanes 27–37. Dominant wins against the Brumbies (40–15) and Waratahs (34–28) showed that the Blues could still be highly competitive, however their last-place conference finish left them outside the qualification pool for the season´s semi-finals, with rival New Zealand franchise the Hurricanes emerging the eventual champions.

2017 again saw the Blues finish bottom of the New Zealand conference, with an even 7 wins and 7 losses to their credit. The up and down nature of their season was reflected in the margins of both their biggest win – 56–18 in Round 1 over the Rebels – and their heaviest defeat – 48–21 to the Sunwolves in the final round in Tokyo. During the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour, the Blues pulled off a shock win over theBritish and Irish Lions 22–26 at Eden Park. Rookie Blues winger Reiko Ioane distinguished himself during the match, scoring a try and notably outpacing Lions and England winger Elliot Daly. Blues reserve first-five Ihaia West and All Black centre Sonny Bill Williams also impressed during the match, both scoring tries and West adding a penalty and conversion to a remarkable result against the tourists.

2018 would see the Blues again finish last in their conference, with a poor record of only four wins vs 12 losses in a miserable season. Crushing losses to the Hurricanes (42–24) and Crusaders (54–17) in the last two rounds illustrated how far the team´s performances had collapsed from coach Tana Umaga´s first, relatively respectable season in charge, and emphasized the need for structural reform at the club. A reshuffle resulted in Umaga being demoted to an assistant coaching role, and the appointment of former All Black, Crusaders assistant and Tasman Mako head coach Leon MacDonald as new Blues coach the following season.

MacDonald´s first year in charge saw little in the way of definite improvements to the Blues win–loss record, with only 5 wins from 17 games giving them their sixth consecutive last-place finish in the New Zealand conference. All Black propKarl Tu'inukuafe and former All BlackMa'a Nonu were recruited from the Chiefs and Toulon, respectively. While their overall standards had improved, their margins of both victory and defeat remaining consistently low, the Blues were unable to mount much of a challenge that season.

Due to the COVID 19 Global Pandemic there was no international Super Rugby competition held in 2020 – with the competition instead delivered via 3 local conferences ie. Australia, NZ and South Africa. In the NZ Conference, Super Rugby Aotearoa, the Blues had a significantly improved season, winning five of their seven games and claiming fourth position at the end of the season.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was wholly regionalised, with the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season and the 2021 Super Rugby AU season replacing the previous 15 side format used from 2018 till 2020. Super Rugby Trans-Tasman followed these tournaments, a crossover competition that featured the five Australian sides playing the five New Zealand sides.

The Blues won 4 of their 8 games, finishing the 2021 season in 3rd place, in the 6 team NZ based competition.

The Blues participated in the first Super Rugby Pacific season in 2022, and finished first in the 12 team round robin. In round 9 they scored their first win in Christchurch over the Crusaders since 2004, winning 27–24 atOrangetheory Stadium. In round 15 they beat the Warratahs 20–17, by aZarn Sullivan drop goal after the 80 minute mark. This marked the franchise's 13th straight win, the longest in franchise history. In the quarter-finals, they played the Highlanders, who they beat 35–6, to reach their first semi-final in 11 years. In the semi-finals, they beat the Brumbies 20–19 in a thrilling encounter. Brumbies first-fiveNoah Lolesio had a match winning drop goal attempt, but this was charged down by Blues propOfa Tu'ungafasi, in turn sending the Blues to their first final since 2003, where they were defeated by the Crusaders 21–7 in front of a packed out Eden Park.

Overall the Blues have dated rivalries with all other New Zealand-based Super Rugby teams (Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders), however a notable trophy is contested between the Blues and Highlanders. TheGordon Hunter Memorial Trophy is contested between the Blues andHighlanders as a part of regular season fixtures between the two sides. The trophy is awarded in memory ofGordon Hunter, who had been head coach of both teams prior to his passing away in 2002.

The team's primary home ground isEden Park, located in the central Auckland suburb of Kingsland. The stadium has a capacity of 50,000. In addition to hosting Blues home matches, the ground is the home of theAuckland Rugby Football Union andAuckland Cricket, and is a frequent host ofAll Blacks matches, and hosted the2011 Rugby World Cup semi-finals, third-place playoff, and final.^[22]

In addition to Eden Park, Blues home matches are occasionally held atNorth Harbour Stadium, home of theNorth Harbour Rugby Union, andOkara Park, home of theNorthland Rugby Union.

Auckland	Albany	Whangārei
Eden Park	QBE Stadium	Northland Events Centre
Capacity: 50,000	Capacity: 30,000	Capacity: 18,500

The Blues represent theAuckland,North Harbour, andNorthland rugby unions. As of 2021 60% of the club is owned (divided 65%, 29% and 6%) by the three unions, through Rugby Holdings Ltd., and 40% by private consortium Better Blues Company Limited.^[23] The previous Blues (andAuckland Rugby Football Union) CEO was Michael Redman, who was formerly CEO of theNew Zealand Breakers basketball team. The current board is made up of six members. Don Mackinnon, also a former New Zealand Netball and High Performance Sport NZ director, took over in 2019 as Blues Chairman from Tony Carter who chaired the board since it became a stand-alone organisation in 2013. The current board includes John Hart, Sam Lotu-liga, Richard Dellabarca, Kate Daly, Grant Graham and Brian Wilsher.

Andrew Hore took up the top job as CEO of the Blues in October 2019. Hore beat off serious competition from 70 applicants to become Blues CEO and believes glory days can return to the team's home ground ofEden Park. Hore was previously CEO at the Ospreys in Wales before going on to turn around theNew South Wales Waratahs andNSW Rugby before deciding it was time to return to New Zealand to the Blues' challenge.

The Blues have fielded a development team in competitions such as thePacific Rugby Cup and in matches against other representative teams for several seasons. Known as the Blues Development XV, the squad is selected from the best emerging rugby talent in the Blues catchment area and is composed of Blues contracted players, wider training group members, under 20s, and selected club players.^[24][25]

The squad for the2025 Super Rugby Pacific season is:^{[26][a][b][c][d]}

• Head coach:Vern Cotter
• Assistant coach:Craig McGrath (Defence coach)
• Assistant coach:Paul Tito (Forwards coach)
• Assistant coach:Dan Halangahu (Skills coach)
• Assistant coach:Greg Feek (Scrum coach)
• Assistant coach:Jason O’Halloran (Attack coach)

• Zinzan Brooke (1996–1997)
• Michael Jones (1998)
• Robin Brooke (1999–2001)
• Glenn Taylor (2002)
• Xavier Rush (2003–2005)
• Keven Mealamu (2006, 2009–2012)
• Troy Flavell (2007–2008)
• Ali Williams (2013)
• Luke Braid (2014)
• Jerome Kaino (2015–2016)
• James Parsons (2016–2017)
• Augustine Pulu (2018)
• Blake Gibson (2019)
• Patrick Tuipulotu (2019–2021, 2024–present)
• Dalton Papalii (2022–2023)

Blues coaches by date, matches and win percentage*

Coach	Period	G	W	D	L	%
Sir Graham Henry	1996–1998	39	32	1	6	082.1
Jed Rowlands	1999	11	4	1	6	036.4
Gordon Hunter	2000	11	6	0	5	054.5
Frank Oliver	2001	11	4	0	7	036.4
Peter Sloane	2002–2005	46	30	1	15	065.2
David Nucifora	2006–2008	40	23	0	17	057.5
Pat Lam	2009–2012	60	27	1	32	045.0
Sir John Kirwan	2013–2015	48	16	0	32	033.3
Tana Umaga	2016–2018	46	19	2	25	041.3
Leon MacDonald	2019–2023	69	45	1	23	065.2
Vern Cotter	2024-present	18	16	0	2	088.9
Totals (1996–present)*		381	206	7	168	054.1
Updated to:24 April 2023

Notes:

• Champions (4)

1996,1997,2003,2024

• Runners-up (2)

1998,2022

• Super Rugby Trans-Tasman Champions (1)

2021

• Playoff appearances (8)

1996,1997,1998,2003,2007,2011,2021,2022,2023,2024

• Champions (1)

2014

• Champions (1)

2018

A season-by-season summary of Blues regular season results is shown below:

^1Teams were awarded four points for a bye during the Super Rugby seasons from 2011 to 2013. Each team took two bye rounds each season. These additional 8 points are included in their season points tally.
^2All matches after Round 7 were cancelled. the season remained incomplete and no champion was awarded.^[31]
^3Super Rugby Aotearoa was announced as a stand-in replacement competition for Super Rugby, between New Zealand Super Rugby sides. It was played as a round robin competition, with no finals. All teams played the other four teams twice, with the title awarded to the highest ranked team at the conclusion of the round robin fixtures. The final round match between the Crusaders and Blues was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions, with each team receiving 2 competition points.^[32][33][34]
^4Super Rugby Aotearoa adopted the same format in 2021 as the inaugural tournament in 2020, with the addition of a final between the top two ranked teams at the conclusion of the round robin stage.^[35]
^5Super Rugby Trans Tasman was a crossover competition between the teams involved inSuper Rugby Aotearoa andSuper Rugby AU. Each team from Super Rugby AU played each team from Super Rugby Aotearoa once, and vice versa. A final was played between the top two seeded teams at the conclusion of the round robin matches.^[36][37]

Blues Super Rugby results vs different opponents[1]

Super Rugby
Opposition	Span	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win%
Chiefs	1996–2023	40	16	1	23	40.0%
Crusaders	1996–2023	41	12	0	29	29.3%
Highlanders	1996–2023	42	25	0	17	55.6%
Hurricanes	1996–2023	39	19	1	19	48.7%
Brumbies	1996–2023	28	17	0	11	60.7%
Force	2006–2023	14	12	1	1	85.7%
Rebels	2011–2023	10	7	0	3	70.0%
Reds	1996–2022	26	13	2	11	50.0%
Waratahs	1996–2022	28	20	0	8	71.4%
Bulls	1996–2020	23	14	2	7	60.9%
Cheetahs	1997–2017	11	8	0	3	72.7%
Lions	1996–2020	22	15	0	7	68.2%
Sharks	1996–2019	25	9	0	16	36.0%
Southern Kings	2016	1	1	0	0	100.0%
Stormers	1996–2020	22	12	0	10	54.5%
Jaguares	2016–2019	3	1	0	2	33.3%
Sunwolves	2017–2019	3	2	0	1	66.7%
Fijian Drua	2022	1	1	0	0	100.0%
Moana Pasifika	2022	2	2	0	0	100.0%
Overall	1996–2023	381	206	7	168	54.1%
Updated to:24 April 2023

• Highest regular season placing: 1st (1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2022)
• Most wins in a season: 16 (2024)
• Most points in a season: 599 (2024)
• Most tries in a season: 87 (2024)
• Fewest wins in a season: 3 (2015)
• Fewest points in a season: 202 (1999)
• Fewest tries in a season: 15 (1999)
• Biggest win: 60–7 (53 point win in 2002 vs. Hurricanes, Wellington)
• Biggest loss: 12–59 (47 point loss in 2012 vs. Crusaders, Christchurch)
• Most points ever scored in a game: 74 (74–28 win in 1998 vs. Stormers, Auckland)
• Fewest points ever scored in a game: 3 (3–20 loss in 2004 vs. Reds, Brisbane), (3–23 loss in 2013 vs. Crusaders, Christchurch)

^[6]

• Games played: 290
• Games won: 154
• Games lost: 131
• Games drawn: 5
• Winning percentage: 53.10%
• Points for: 7750
• Points against: 6983
• Tries for: 922
• Tries conceded: 767

Record updated as of Round 9 v Brumbies, 2017

87 officially recognised Blues players have gone on to represent the All Blacks as of the 2017 season.There have been a total of 268 players to have played for the Blues which means that 30% of all Blues over two decades have either represented the All Blacks or have gone on to represent them.

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