Short and long-term solutions needed to break losing habit
Alas, for Aucklanders, it is back to being the ghost at the Super Rugby feast. Finals football is for other cities — not Auckland.
For the fifth year in a row, the Chiefs, Hurricanes, Highlanders and Crusaders all made the last eight while the Blues didn’t.
The Blues haven’t made the playoffs any of the past eight seasons and only two (2007 and 2011) of the past 15.
If legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi was right that winning is a habit, by logical extension, so is losing.
So how are the Blues going to break this endemic pattern of failure and bring finals football back to Auckland?
There are obvious short-term problems that can be remedied in time for the 2019 season and a number of long-term issues that will most likely take years to change.
The club has taken half a step in the right direction in regard to one of the biggest short-term problems — and that is the hiring of a stronger, more experienced coaching team around head coach Tana Umaga.
But while Leon MacDonald and Tom Coventry are proven at other Super Rugby clubs, they have to be trusted and allowed to do their jobs in Auckland.
If they can work as a unified force with Umaga, where they can challenge one another, then hopefully the three other major short-term problems can be sorted.
The Blues need a pack that can scrummage well, win lineout ball, organise an effective driving maul and deliver quick tackle ball.
When Coventry was at the Chiefs between 2012 and 2015, that’s all he did with the pack — drill them relentlessly on those core basics. It worked. The Chiefs won two titles and could physically hold their own against any team in the competition.
Defensively, the Blues were awful this year. They conceded 509 points, which was the third worst in the competition — leaking an average of 32 points a game.
Umaga remains, arguably, the greatest All Blacks defender of the professional age.
His challenge is to instil in his team the same excellence he achieved as a player and make teams work for their points.
Better, more consistent selection, is the third key to helping achieve the first two goals.
No more using Rieko Ioane at second-five when he’s the best attacking weapon in world rugby when he plays on the wing.
Skipper Augustine Pulu is a wonderfully resilient and committed player. But his passing off his left hand is dire and some of his decisionmaking isn’t great either, so relieve him of the burden of leadership and tell him to do nothing more than clear the ball quickly.
Patrick Tuipulotu, so quiet and unassuming, is a man mountain with the respect of everyone. Being captain of Auckland last year brought the best out of him and
maybe he’s the best long-term bet to captain the Blues.
Other quick fixes include: Improve the understanding of kicking strategy. Young first-five Stephen Perofeta strikes the ball well, but doesn’t seem to know where to kick it half the time.
Demand Akira Ioane come on to the ball at pace and tackle with his shoulders, not arms.
Find and develop a replacement at blindside for Jerome Kaino and find a fullback with a raking punt.
The longer-term things that need to be changed are:
Build a relationship with a tertiary institution whereby scholarships and funding can be offered to promising youngsters.
Have a transparent recruitment and retention strategy that works with and not against the three provincial unions of Auckland, North Harbour and Northland.
Invest in property that can be used to house players from outside the region. So many don’t come because they can’t afford to buy a house.
The situation isn’t going to miraculously change quickly, but if the Blues get the short-term right, while they build for the long-term, better players will want to come and stay.