Have a break - have a kitty Cat!

Just when you thought the Cats could not sink any lower in the estimation of their peers, the Blues delivered a psychological blow that could further undermine the tourists' brittle confidence.

When your opponents on foreign soil cancel their training sessions in the days leading up to your clash you know the local bookmakers will offer spreads on when the four-try bonus point will be achieved, or when your third player will be sin-binned for a repeated offence.

The Blues boldly declared through their website that they have cancelled the time they had set aside for fine tuning ahead of their penultimate Super 12 league match tomorrow.

"The Blues are taking a break from training in the lead-up to their home match against the Cats. All of the sessions planned for Eden Park have therefore been cancelled," the website revealed.

Whether the Blues decision has more to do with conserving energy for the knockout stages, or the status of the feeble felines, it smacks of arrogance. But it also remains a sad indictment of the standard the Cats have produced on their Australasian tour.

The contrast between the two teams cannot be more stark.

The Cats are looking at ways to extricate themselves from the bottom of the Super 12 points table, while the Blues are already exploring ways to entertain their crowd during their home semifinal.

When the Blues have had to make changes this season, it required no more than cosmetic surgery but Cats coach Tim Lane must feel like one of the central figures from Little Red Riding Hood. He has applied the axe in rather heavy-handed fashion on at least two occasions when he gave more than half his starting XV the chop.

The starkest contrast, however, has been the composure of the two teams when in possession. Had the scheme existed, the Blues would have accumulated a healthy tally of frequent guest points for the amount of time they spend inside the opposition's goal area, while the Cats have been reluctant travellers into their opponents' half.

Although his team's defence has been porous, Lane believes there are ways of frustrating the hosts. "I think the Sharks showed that if you defend well and put them under pressure at the breakdowns, the Blues are fallible. Defence has been our weakness though and we haven't been aggressive enough at the breakdowns. Maybe we have too many youngsters," he said.

Lane has made five changes to the line-up that lost to the Reds for tomorrow's clash. Doppies la Grange will slot into midfield for Gcobani Bobo who will provide cover on the bench for centre and flank, Jaun Smith moves from lock to flank for Joe van Niekerk, Willem Stolz replaces Smith, Kleinjan Tromp returns for Jannes Labuschagne, while Baksteen Nell is in for Pat Barnard.

The Blues team is yet to be announced.