So that’s why they call them the Blues
OPINION: The less said about these Blues the better.
Yes, the present players and coaches are the ones making all the mistakes and losing all the games. But they’re not responsible for bringing this once-great franchise to its knees.
They haven’t developed the pathways, built the culture or appointed all the relevant people. They didn’t take the juggernaut of the 1980s, and early years of Super Rugby, and turn it into an irrelevance.
It’s successive administrations who have created a situation where only the Sunwolves are having a worse season than the Blues. That really is some feat.
It might be tempting to round on the players or condemn the coaching of Tana Umaga, but the reality is these guys don’t pick or appoint themselves.
You don’t often spare a thought for All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. After all, his lot is hardly a bad one.
But, year after year, he does have to take talented individuals, crushed by continual failure at the Blues, and pick them up and make them winners again. The longer New Zealand Rugby and the Blues’ board allow the franchise to endure defeats such as Saturday’s 63-40 one to the Sharks, the harder the task for Hansen and company.
At least the rest of us at least have the luxury of pretending the Blues don’t exist.
If only referees were as easy to ignore.
Glen Jackson was once a fine rugby player. He’s now an excellent ref. The fact he made part of his playing name at the Chiefs is - or certainly should be immaterial.
When you say Jackson controlled Friday’s game between the Chiefs and Highlanders, you really mean it.
In writing Stuff’s match blog, comments were quite thick on the ground from fans accusing Jackson of bias. I don’t buy that. But there’s no doubt Jackson had an influence on the match.
The match stats had the penalty count finishing 6-6, having begun 5-0 in favour of the Chiefs. Not surprisingly, the Chiefs turned that into an early lead.
The Highlanders had a few decisions go their way after halftime and soon found themselves 22-20 up. But a penalty against their No 8, Luke Whitelock, shifted the momentum back to the Chiefs, who went on to score through wing Sean Wainui and win 27-22.
Yes, there were still chances for the Highlanders at the end and poor set-piece execution let them down.
That doesn’t, however, alter the fact that the flow of penalties had a very real impact upon proceedings.
You’d like to think it’s the players and, to a lesser extent, coaches who are responsible for the outcome but that’s not always the case. Rugby needs to be careful that a guy who’s not actually playing doesn’t determine what happens.
The Hurricanes had no trouble dealing with referee Angus Gardner, or the Rebels, at AAMI Park on Friday night.
Their 50-19 leaves them second on the overall standings, a point adrift of the Rebels.
The Waratahs, in sixth, are Australia’s next-best side following their 24-17 win over the Brumbies, while the Bulls were 33-23 winners over the Stormers in Pretoria.
The Lions and Crusaders completed the round with a match in Johannesburg this morning (NZT).