Western Force fullback Kurtley Beale has marked his long-awaited return with a try, but it wasn't enough in a 40-19 loss to the Blues in Auckland.
Beale, playing his first match since rupturing his achilles tendon 10 months ago, scored in the 47th minute to reduce the margin to five points in Friday night's Super Rugby Pacific match at Eden Park.
But the Blues' powerful scrum - combined with a series of creative kicks from star flyhalf Beauden Barrett - were enough to lift the home side to a six-tries-to-three bonus-point victory.
The result means both the seventh-placed Force and sixth-placed Blues are on 22 points.
The Force could drop a few more places by the end of the round, and they will probably need to win at least two of their last three games to have a chance of reaching the finals for the first time.
"It's good to be back, but disappointed in the end," Beale told Sky Sport.
"The boys are gutted, so back to the drawing board for a big week next week against the Brumbies.
"(I felt) a little bit of butterflies, but it's rugby. You love the game for what it is.
"The game's changing, it's getting fitter, faster, stronger. But I enjoy the challenge.
"I love the unpredictability about the game."
The Force entered the match having lost 22 of their past 23 matches in New Zealand, and having never won at Eden Park.
Their last win over the Blues at any venue was way back in 2008.
Beale's first meaningful touch was a good one, with his slicing run and slick pass setting up Harry Potter for a line break.
The Force put a heap of pressure on the Blues early, but a series of handling errors let their opponents off the hook time and again.
The Blues made the most of the reprieves, with prop Marcel Renata barging over after a successful scrum in the 16th minute, before winger Cole Forbes went over untouched under the posts four minutes later.
That double blow gave the Blues a 12-0 lead, but the Force didn't give up.
Potter was giving the hosts all sorts of headaches with his powerful runs, and he would have scored a try in the 25th minute if not for a last-gasp tackle from Corey Evans.
Force tryscoring machine Carlo Tizzano thought he had scored his 12th of the season in the 27th minute, only for it to be ruled out due to an earlier knock-on from hooker Nic Dolly.
But Tizzano was celebrating 10 minutes later when he went over from a rolling maul.
The Blues struck just 72 seconds into the second half when Barrett swung it wide for AJ Lam to touch down, giving them a 19-7 lead.
But in a team-lifting moment for the Force, Ben Donaldson's cross kick found Mac Grealy, who slipped a pass out the back of his hand for Beale to latch onto for a try.
Beale was swarmed by his teammates after crossing over, but the Blues scored three of the next four tries to run out easy winners.
Bennett's chip kick for Corbes to score his second try was special.
Beale came off in the 72nd minute, and he looms as a key cog for the Force as they attempt to work their way back into the top six during the final month of the season.
