The Blues have dedicated their 24-12 Super Rugby Aotearoa win over the Chiefs to fallen police officer Constable Matthew Hunt.
Hunt was shot and killed in the line of duty on Friday, while carrying out a routine traffic stop in the Auckland suburb of Massey.
Five days earlier, the 28-year-old was among the sellout crowd during the Blues' 30-20 win over the Hurricanes at Eden Park.
As a mark of respect, the Blues wore black armbands against the Chiefs, securing their first win in Hamilton since 2011.
In a social media post, the Blues said: "Dedicated to Constable Matthew Hunt."
Hunt, who grew up on the Hibiscus Coast, north of Auckland, had always dreamed of being a police officer and was passionate about sport.
Fullback Beauden Barrett paid his respects to the family in an interview with Sky Sport.
"It's absolutely tragic and condolences to his family," he explained. "We were aware he was at our game last week and he planned to come next week, so we wore the black armband for him.
"I want to thank all the brave policemen and women out there doing their best in the communities to look after us and keep us safe."
Captain Patrick Tuipulotu echoed Barrett's comments.
"Word came to us that he actually attended our last game at Eden Park, so for something tragic like that to happen is pretty close to our hearts, being a Blues supporter and especially being on the front-line, looking after us," Tuipulotu told Sky Sport.
"It's close for us. We've got to move on, but prayers go out to his family and the police force doing it hard."
The Blues sit top the Super Rugby Aotearoa standings and return to Eden Park next weekend to face the Highlanders.
Join us at 3pm Sunday for live updates of the Hurricanes v Crusaders Super Rugby Aotearoa clash.
