Umaga says Blues have turned the corner
For one reason or another it’s taken the Blues almost the full season to figure out who they are, and what makes them click.
There was always going to be a bedding in period with Tana Umaga, another new coach, coming on board.
The mental and tactical development of Umaga’s team has extended longer than he first expected, to the point where playoff hopes were dead and buried for this year at least.
But the 40-15 victory over the previous Australian conference leading Brumbies at Eden Park on Friday night gave validity to the belief the Blues have improved.
Finally, there is genuine hope for this team and its long-suffering fans.
Mark the June break down as a turning point. Since then the Blues embraced width, speed, offloads and support play with devastating rewards. That was even true in last week’s loss to the Hurricanes.
They’ve also been smarter, with Ihaia West and Piers Francis varying their respective kicking games for space, and not attempting to run everything when it’s not on.
Look across the Blues squad and you’ll see athletes who love to grab the ball and run. It’s their natural instinct, and they’re good at it.
During the last two weeks Steven Luatua has been a man possessed, busting tackles on the edge and freeing his arms at will. Jerome Kaino has scored four tries after returning from the All Blacks as he feeds off the rejuvenated outlook.
And then there’s Melani Nanai, who is quickly making the fullback spot his own.
Collectively, the Blues used the June break to restore damaged confidence. Now those risky passes are sticking and Umaga also believes they’ve developed ways to not let errors bog them down.
Case in point, scoring two tries with Kaino in the bin against the Brumbies. Maybe the Blues aren’t so fragile anymore.
‘‘That’s a good indication of where we’ve got to,’’ Umaga said.
Behind the scenes there’s been a focus on tackling those mental scars - and addressing off-field distractions.
‘‘We’re getting young kids coming through one or two years out of school who are earning a lot of money and have a lot of extra stuff and attention that they never had before.
‘‘Sometimes it gets lost what they used to do to get them to where they are - and what they’re good at.
‘‘It’s making sure we keep that balance and they understand ways to deal with those pressures from outside, at home and everywhere.
‘‘That takes a bit of getting used to for some young guys and even for some older guys so we’ve got to keep working away at that.’’
Another physical and mental test arrives next week, with the Waratahs coming to town for the Blues final match. Win that, and secure a positive win ledger, and there can be no arguments that the Blues are in a much better place than any in recent memory.
‘‘I think we are - hopefully you’ve seen that. In terms of dealing with adversity on the field and you can see that confidence to play.
‘‘That’s what we did as kids. It’s a bit faster and tougher now but it’s still the same game.
‘‘When we enjoy ourselves and are united as a group things go well and we’ve got to keep doing that.’’