Hart: Blues have to do it better on, off the field
Building blocks put in place for revival of Blues, writes Marc Hinton.
Afew weeks back a gaggle of key stakeholders in the Blues rugby franchise sat round a large table and brainstormed their path forward. Then they had some dinner and a drink or two and firmed up those bonds and intentions even further.
Sounds simple, right? This is a Super Rugby organisation and assembling the constituent parts to review and renew is a nobrainer. A bare-minimum necessity.
But this is the Blues we are talking about. Not exactly the model of a successful professional rugby franchise. (Though there was a time, back in the early days, when they led the way). They have been mired in mediocrity for the best part of a decade, haven’t made the playoffs since 2011, have had just one winning season in their last seven and been Kiwi conference woodenspooners for five straight years.
The fact that the region is home to New Zealand’s largest population base, and most prodigious talent nursery, merely adds to the disgruntlement. But the situation has clearly reached a critical mass. In AugustSeptember New Zealand Rugby took back control of the Blues, negotiated a release with the private equity owner and installed its own three representatives on the board to oversee a reclamation project.
Former All Blacks coach John Hart was one of those appointees, alongside former government minister Sam Lotu-Iiga and current NZR board member Richard Dellabarca. The latter two are there for their acumen in governance, administration and change management. Hart is very much the rugby brains of the trio.
Hart agreed to sit down with Stuff for an interview because he believes it’s important to inform the public of steps being taken to address deep-seated issues. Change is happening at the Blues and Hart wants his people to know about it.
The new board’s first significant act was to shake up the coaching team. Incumbent head coach Tana Umaga, fresh off a 4-12 campaign, was replaced in the top job by former Crusaders assistant and Tasman Mako chief Leon MacDonald. Umaga took an unprecedented step down to a support role and Tom Coventry and Daniel Halangahu were also brought in. Well credentialed strength and conditional man Phil Ellis was also added.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The new board recognised that fundamental change had to occur across a franchise that had hit ‘‘rock bottom in a lot of measures’’.
Hart is enthused about the new board and moves already taken to repair the relationship between the Blues and its member unions, Auckland, North Harbour and Northland. It has been well documented that there was such a disconnect between the franchise and Auckland union that its training base lay vacant while the provincial side was reduced to training at random suburban fields.
For obvious reasons, Hart is about the way forward, and not the problematic past. But even he acknowledged that things had become pretty much unworkable.
‘‘We had a two-hour workshop where the chairmen, CEOs, high performance managers and coaches of Auckland, North Harbour, Northland and the Blues sat down with our board. I came away very heartened that we’re going to look at how we could do things better, how our academies could work better, and how we could co-ordinate better. I don’t think a lot of that has happened in the past.
‘‘None of us can hide from the fact that the Blues haven’t performed for a number of years. There was a cohesive approach around the board table to say ‘how can we get better?’ We want the Blues to win but we’ve got to be realistic: we’re coming off a bad run and it’s going to take some time.
‘‘In the past, while there was contact between the top people, there hasn’t been a cohesion. We can help with that, but it’s the people in the organisation who have to make it work.’’
Hart talks about the need to drive a ‘‘performance culture’’ through the organisation. ‘‘If you’re critical, we haven’t had that for quite some time,’’ he adds of something he defines as professionalism around playing and training, around disciplines and standards, around engagement with the community and sponsors and being holistic about the quest for success.
He is adamant the ball is rolling. He calls the new board ‘‘cohesive’, with a high calibre of people, and says the relationship between the unions is ‘‘fantastic’’. All signs are the new coaching crew has already elicited a positive response from the team.
‘‘That gives me some hope we’ve made the first shift, but there are a number of shifts required to make the franchise great again,’’ he adds. ‘‘We’ve got to make Auckland, North Harbour and Northland great at their levels. We have to work together to achieve the right outcomes for the unions and Blues, but not one at the expense of each other.’’
Hart says MacDonald is a vital cog in the new machine, bringing with him important institutional knowledge from the Crusaders and Mako. ‘‘He’s a bright young coach with a lot of qualities. He was a good player, a good person and he’s a good coach. If we all give him space and support he can make a wonderful contribution to the Blues long-term.
‘‘They’ve got a really good team. Tom is a very good coach too and retaining Tana brings continuity and knowledge.’’
The Blues are not rebuilding from rubble. Commercially they’re on firm footing despite their on-field struggles. ‘‘It’s about getting performances on the field and rugby systems in place to create long-term adds Hart. ‘‘That’s going to happen overnight.’’
Part of the vision is to develop coaches and support staff, as well as players, from within the region. This builds a ‘‘culture of belief’’ that has been nowhere done better that in the Crusaders.
MacDonald’s knowledge there helps but Hart says the Blues have to build their own successful model based on their own needs. ‘‘It will be different to what the Crusaders do, but some of the principles will be the same.
‘‘We’ve got to do a better job of being cohesive. If we want our coaches and players to come from the region we’ve got to grow our talent coming through North Harbour, Northland and Auckland into the Blues.
‘‘That doesn’t mean they have to learn their craft here. Alama Ieremia is a good example of that. He’s led a step change in what Auckland has done, on and off the field. The Blues will benefit from that immensely.
‘‘There has been endemic failure in Auckland and the Blues for a while. I’m a life member of the Auckland union and I’m proud of what they’ve done this year. It’s a great step forward, and we’d be silly not to learn from those things.’’
Hart is committed to being part of this process for as long as he’s required and defines success thus: ‘‘When the public start feeling good again about the Blues, and when crowds start coming to Eden Park. I’d love success to also be us getting in the playoffs, but that’s a big step.’’ success,’’ not
‘‘None of us can hide from the fact that the Blues haven’t performed for a number of years.’’ John Hart