Blues Rugby

Back in the early days of Super Rugby, the Blues were the dominant team. Under Graham Henry they made the first three finals and won two of them.

The Blues of the past few years haven't been anything special. Apart from one semi-final appearance against the Reds last year, the Blues under Pat Lam have always found some way to avoid the playoffs.

Now, I respect Lam as a coach. He certainly has the credentials, coaching Auckland to two championships in his four years at the helm. However, during his tenure with the Blues, despite having a wealth of talent at his disposal, his team has been very inconsistent and despite always being in the hunt for a playoff berth, have only made the playoffs once. They have had a knack of scoring a lot of points but not winning as many games, often being high on the table due to bonus points.

Not all of it has been Lam's fault, however. His team has been hit by some injury-riddled years such as 2009 to 2010, with All Blacks such as Ali Williams, Joe Rokocoko and Tony Woodcock missing considerable amounts of game time because of injury.

They have also lacked a consistent first five-eighth to lead their talented backline, having to rely on the likes of Tasesa Lavea, Jimmy Gopperth and Stephen Brett. But in every level of the team from the front row to the back three, this team was still stacked with talent.

Last year was the best year under Lam so far, losing to the eventual champions in their fortress over there in Brisbane, so there's reason to believe that maybe with some more talent, this team can win the big one.

Well they have more talent now.

Following last year's season, the Blues have acquired the services of IRB International Player of the year candidates Piri Weepu and Ma'a Nonu to go with their own player of the year candidate Jerome Kaino. Other past All Blacks Rudi Wulf and Brad Mika return to the squad as well. These moves have given the Blues one of the most talented squads in the Super 15, rivalled in New Zealand only by the Crusaders.

Weepu, in particular, is the most intriguing addition because many see him as the solution to the Blues' pivot problems. His preference has always been at halfback, but he has shown the ability to cover five-eighths before, playing alongside current teammate Alby Mathewson in the Hurricanes. He is often considered to be a possible backup to Dan Carter. He made his debut at 10 for the Blues last week against the Melbourne Rebels in pre-season.

But even though he had a great 2011, Weepu's problem in the past has always been his fitness and his consistency. If he doesn't work out at 10, behind him is the promising 20-year-old Gareth Anscombe.

Anscombe has done an admirable job leading the Auckland backline with great kicking and outstanding pace. He can play wing and fullback as well. Perhaps in the future he'll be competing with Beauden Barrett or Aaron Cruden for that black 10 jersey.

The backline they'll be in charge of includes a wealth of talent, with Lam being able to field a backline of past and present All Blacks. In the centres, Ma'a Nonu provides the Blues with a powerful battering ram to bash opposing lines, and Benson Stanley provides defensive ability and crisp passing. 

On the outside there is a mix of young talent. Established players Rudi Wulf and Rene Ranger combine with young up-and-comers Sherwin Stowers, George Moala and David Rakuna. With Isaia Toeava leading from the back, the Blues could be deadly on the counter-attack and will have some effective finishers on the wing.

The forward pack is full of veterans like Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Ali Williams, Jerome Kaino and Daniel Braid. They are accompanied by young standouts like Charlie Faumuina, Anthony Boric and Luke Braid. Barring injuries, this pack should be a force in set pieces and at the breakdown.

A super talented roster like this should definitely improve from last year. If they don't, then Lam may have to move on.

The recent success of the Warriors is taking interest away from the Blues in Auckland. The Blues need to show some more consistency and Lam needs these superstars to run like a well-oiled machine instead of the sputtering lemon that falls short of the finish line.

The Blues have steadily improved over the years, but are still stuck behind the Crusaders in the New Zealand conference. It's about time they re-establish themselves as an elite team in the Super 15. The talent is there, the rest is Lam's job.

The Hurricanes beat the Blues in a true game of two halves on Friday night at Albany. It was a fast-paced game, dominated by the number of penalties awarded but still seemed to flow well. 

The Blues started off well with new signing Stephen Brett having a blinder. It didn't take him long to touch down for the first try of the 2010 Super 14 as he went through a large gap in the defence after a lineout. He was instrumental in setting up the Blues second try also as he sold a dummy and went through a gap before getting the pass away for John Afoa to crash over beneath the posts.

Brett kicked well in the first half as well making both conversions and two penalties. While the Blues looked the dominant side the Hurricanes were able to stay in touch as Willie Ripia kicked four first half penalties as the Blues were punished heavily by Stuart Dickinson while the players adapted to the new breakdown rulings.

The Blues went to the break with a 20-12 point lead.

But that was as good as it got for the Blues as the Hurricanes scored 22 unanswered points in the second half. Hosea Gear who looked dominant all night and proved to be a handful every time he got the ball finally crossed the line after Brett fired an intercept pass straight to him. Ripia knocked over one more penalty and Piri Weepu added another four penalties to see the Hurricanes to a 34-20 win.

In a twist of fate Brett had a second half to forget seemingly unable to do anything right.

Other standout players included Conrad Smith who had a superb game defensively, John Afoa was mobile and his scrummaging was of a high standard, Cory Jane who always looked safe under the high ball while Victor Vito had a strong all-around game.

Next week the Blues travel to Dunedin to take on the Highlanders while the Hurricanes are back at home against the Force. 

Blues (5th) V Waratahs (3rd) @ Eden Park

HEAD TO HEAD: Played 13, Blues 9, Waratahs 4

In Auckland: Blues 5 Waratahs 0

Last time: Waratahs 37 Blues 16 @ Sydney Football stadium 5/4/08

It is simple equation, win and join or surpass the Bulls at the top of the table, or lose and potentially drop out of the top end of the table. 

For the home team, they will bask in the glory of the Garden of Eden, the stronghold of New Zealand rugby.  The Blues will be trying to avoid only the third time they have suffered back to back losses at New Zealand’s largest ground.

All Black Tony Woodcock remains out of the team, and the hammering received at the hands of the chiefs has seen Coach Pat Lam shore up the defences.

In form international Isaia Toeava moves into outside centre, where he has played for the All Blacks, and second five eighth Jamie Helleur, a noted defensive player, takes his place in the starting line up.

The Blues will bring the most potent attacking record to the fixture, scoring 23 tries and making more running metres than any other team, but also wield the worst defensive record.  Twice they have conceded 50+ points this season.

The Waratahs will arrive on a two match losing streak, but will look to record their fourth victory over a New Zealand team which will see them take the best season record for NSW against kiwi opposition.

Kurtley Beale, the dynamic but erratic fly half, drops out of the starting team to give way to Daniel Halangahu—starting his first match in almost two years.

Quite simply, the Waratahs were woeful against a terrible undermanned Crusaders team last week (who have more front line injuries—six—than any other side). 

The Waratahs should have the stronger set piece and defence, but have looked rudderless in attack at times this season, hence the change at standoff.  

While they remain third on the table going into this match, eight teams have scored more tries than NSW this season.  It follows a tradition going back to 2005 when Australia’s strongest franchise on paper has struggled to post tries.

The Blues though, will need to tighten their defence.  If they can do so without compromising their freewheeling attack, they should extend their impressive home record against the Waratahs, and move into the top four.

Their hard hitting defence has been a feature so far this season, but so has their crooked pattern defence.  If they can tighten this up, they will arrest their astonishing defensive leak of 26 tries in their first six matches.

Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Will Caldwell, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Dan Palmer, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Chris Thomson, 19 Luke Doherty, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Kurtley Beale, 22 Timana Tahu.

Blues: 15 Paul Williams, 14 Anthony Tuitavake, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Jamie Helleur, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Taniela Moa, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Onosa'i Auva'a, 6 Chris Lowrey, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Kurtis Haiu, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (captain), 1 Tevita Mailau.
Replacements:16 Tom McCartney, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Peter Saili, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Michael Hobbs, 22 Rene Ranger.

The Blue Bulls dominated their 2007 semi-final rivals in Pretoria with an awesome show of controlled force. It was the type of rugby everyone knows can come from the Bulls.

They scored four tries in less than 25 minutes. The Blues had no answer for the structured play and innovative variations the Bulls produced.

Bryan Habana (3 min), Dewald Potgieter (16 min), Zane Kirchner (21 min), Pierre Spies (23 min), Fourie du Preez (48 min), Spies (77 min) and Wynand Olivier (79 min) were try-scorers for the Bulls.

Rene Ranger opened the Blues account after 25 minutes after the Bulls' fourth try. He showed some blistering pace and great strength on his feet to out-sprint the Bulls defence with ease.

Anthony Tuitavake also scored after finding a gap in the Bulls back-line and making it look wider than it was.

Half-time score was 32-14 to the Bulls and the only thing that looked like stopping the Bulls from winning would be their tendency to fizzle out in the second half and the referee's confusing interpretation of the game and its laws.

Benson Stanley (60 min) and Isaia Toeava (67 min) scored for the Blues in the second half and Jimmy Gopperth kicked a penalty, but were the only scores for the Blues in the second half.

Fourie du Preez had complete control of the Blue Machine as he directed play brilliantly until he was replaced by an equally confident and innovative Heinie Adams. The final score was 59-26 to the Blue Bulls.

The Blues managed a bonus point and really looked dangerous in attack. Their younger players were most impressive and it was hard to believe they were missing a number of All Black regulars. 11 tries in the match made it a joy to watch.

The Bulls were better in every department than last week's performance against the Reds, except discipline. They seemed to struggle to adapt to the referee...something that is crucial in top-level rugby.

Deon Steggmann spent 10 minutes pondering what a player is supposed to do, as we all are, at the breakdown.

The Bulls game plan has been successfully adapted to the new(er) ELVs and they look destined for a home final if they can keep going along the same path.