He will, of course, also be marking Aaron Cruden, an All Black who plays second fiddle only to Dan Carter. Cruden was good in the Chiefs' 24-16 victory over the Hurricanes last weekend which they needed to keep their hopes alive; West, meanwhile, didn't disgrace himself in the Blues' 21-13 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch, but he will want to be more assertive on attack and defence this Friday night.
He made only four successful tackles at AMI Stadium, but, more significantly, missed three. Cruden made 12 without a single miss in Hamilton and was one of his team's most dangerous attacking threats. West, on the other hand, preferred to pass rather than take on the Crusaders' defence.
Blues coach John Kirwan believes his team still have a chance of sneaking into the top six. To do so, they will have to beat the Chiefs by at least 38 points. They are unbeaten at their fortress this season, but that margin of victory against a Chiefs team with Cruden at the helm and loose forward Tanerau Latimer potentially playing his last game would be most unlikely.
This week's announcement that the Blues had secured 22-year-old West's signature on a contract for the next two seasons was confirmation that they had given up on securing Hurricane Beauden Barrett. West was holding off signing until he was sure of the future landscape and now that he has he might find the expectations rise accordingly.
The Hawkes Bay player, who missed out on a contract at the start of the season and joined the Blues halfway through as cover for the injured Baden Kerr and Chris Noakes, made his debut in the impressive victory over the Reds at Eden Park and immediately looked at home when scoring a try from 50m. He was a substitute in his team's next two matches, defeats to the Chiefs and Sharks, before starting in the victory over the Hurricanes and looking good against rival No10 Barrett.
West links well with Ma'a Nonu due to his inventiveness with the ball and the All Blacks midfielder looks a happier man playing alongside him than Simon Hickey, but unfortunately for West and the Blues, Nonu appears set to confirm a move back to the Hurricanes.
Kirwan has been reluctant to talk about either the Nonu or Barrett situation recently, preferring to concentrate on West's signing and what in all likelihood will be his team's final match of the season.
"He's incredibly relaxed under pressure and has a great temperament that you need in a 10," Kirwan said of West. "Nothing seems to faze him; he came into the football team midway through the year but it was like he'd been here five years.
As the Blues chase a victory akin to Mission Impossible, the temperament of the young man likely to be Kirwan's first-choice No10 next season could be tested to the limit.
- By Patrick McKendry of APNZ
