The Blues will be without captain Dalton Papali'i for the rest of the Super Rugby Pacific regular season, after the All Blacks forward was suspended for his dangerous tackle against the Crusaders last weekend.
Papali'i was shown a yellow card for his high shot on Crusaders first-five Richie Mo'unga during the Blues' 15-3 defeat in Christchurch on Saturday. That was upgraded to a red upon further review from the TMO.
On Tuesday, SANZAAR announced Papali'i will serve a three-week ban for the incident, ruling him out of their final stretch of the round-robin.
The foul play committee said it took into account Papali'i's early guilty plea and his "exemplary" prior record.
Papali'i's absence will be a significant blow to the Blues, who are currently chasing a home quarter-final berth. They currently sit fifth in the competition standings, three points shy of the Crusaders in the all-important top four.
The Blues' travel to Brisbane to face the Reds this weekend, before rounding out their schedule against the Hurricanes and Highlanders at Eden Park.
