Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's Rugby World Cup hopes are fast slipping away.
It is, perhaps, unfair to judge Tuivasa-Sheck too harshly after one 46-minute comeback match for the Blues against winless Moana Pasifika last weekend following seven weeks on the sideline with a hand injury.
But comparing his return with experienced All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown, after he scored a try and immediately asserted his presence to celebrate his 100th match for the Chiefs, presents a stark contrast.
On that evidence alone it is clear how much ground Tuivasa-Sheck must close on the established contenders for the All Blacks No 12 jersey.
With four rounds remaining before the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs time is, indeed, running out for Tuivasa-Sheck to reignite his case for Rugby Championship and World Cup inclusion.
While Tuivasa-Sheck achieved three Tests -- playing 90 minutes -- for the All Blacks last year, his stated aim when switching from the NRL to union was to crack the World Cup squad and play on the pinnacle stage in France.
With Jordie Barrett, David Havili and Lienert-Brown well ahead in the All Blacks second five-eighth pecking order, Tuivasa-Sheck needs something of a minor miracle, or a major injury, to force his way into the squad from here. The fact he failed to earn selection for the Blues important clash against the Crusaders on the weekend indicative of where he currently ranks.
From the outset Tuivasa-Sheck's code switch set an improbable task.
Everyone recalls Sonny Bill Williams' peak days in union -- those when the Chiefs captured successive titles under Dave Rennie and Wayne Smith's guidance from 2012-13. Outside Aaron Cruden, Williams offered a compelling, direct presence while throwing offloads at will.
Few, though, remember Williams needed four years after leaving the Bulldogs -- traversing from Toulon to Canterbury and the Crusaders before arriving in Hamilton -- to reach that level.
In effectively attempting to replicate Williams' code changing feats in the same union position, Tuivasa-Sheck's two-year timeframe always appeared highly ambitious.
Circumstances haven't helped his development, to be fair. Covid robbed him of the chance to first find his feet in provincial rugby with Auckland. And each time he began to somewhat settle, regular injuries further stunted progress.
There is, however, a prevailing school of thought Tuivasa-Sheck's skills were never allowed to truly flourish; that he should have featured on the wing, not second-five, particularly in the initial stages to help his transition.
Rather than be confined to the congestion, and required to grasp the communication, distribution and other finer intricates the midfield demands, former All Blacks fullback Israel Dagg is among those who believes Tuivasa-Sheck's trademark step is better suited to space afforded on the edges.
"They brought him over and he didn't get a realistic chance," Dagg recently opined on his SENZ radio show. "They put him in the wrong position. He didn't get a chance to showcase his skills. I would have loved to have seen him in the outsides, his biggest asset is his speed and skills. He was let down over here."
Defensively Tuivasa-Sheck has struggled at times, too, with front-on tackling the midfield requires. He was exposed on the edge against the Crusaders earlier this season when explosive wing Leicester Fainga'anuku pushed him off after regathering Richie Mo'unga's cross-field kick en route to a telling length of the field try.
With his path to the World Cup roadblocked at second-five Tuivasa-Sheck must not only deliver standout displays in the coming weeks, and attempt to upstage his All Blacks counterparts, but hope to prove his versatility by slotting on the wing to enhance his squad appeal.
Barrett and Havili, for instance, cover fullback within a matchday squad while Lienert-Brown is equally adept at centre. Tuivasa-Sheck, at this point, is almost exclusively a second-five option.
Three-weeks ago Tuivasa-Sheck announced he will return to the Warriors from 2024 on a three-year deal.
While the NRL club he captained will gladly welcome him back with open arms, news of his impending departure was largely greeted with a shrug of the shoulders in union circles.
In many respects a return home to the 13-man code he made his name and won a Premiership a decade ago with the Roosters, makes perfect sense.
Before the next switch arrives Tuivasa-Sheck may strike form for the Blues and force All Blacks coach Ian Foster to hand him a chance to impress during the abbreviated Rugby Championship.
Yet as his time in union gradually draws to a close, the more likely scenario confines Tuivasa-Sheck to the fringe where he features for the All Blacks XV in fixtures against Japan and a French selection later this year.
Such a conclusion would aptly reflect the dwindling fanfare surrounding the 29-year-old and the challenges facing anyone, no matter how revered, attempting to fast-track a code switch to the upper echelons of the union midfield.