Blues backing Tana despite horror season
Beleaguered boss hints at retaining under-fire Umaga as head coach, writes Liam Napier
Expect Tana Umaga to be reappointed in the coming weeks. Despite another run of disastrous results from the beleaguered Blues, it seems Umaga's retention only needs rubberstamping.
Reading between the carefullyscripted lines uttered by underpressure Blues chief executive Michael Redman yesterday, that was the main takeaway.
There was certainly no suggestion Umaga is about to be pushed aside.
“We're working through that at the moment. It's fair to say there's plenty of support for Tana within NZ Rugby and the Blues,” Redman said. “We think he has a great rugby brain; he has the respect of the players, he has my support and the support of the board.
“In the end, we haven't been able to deliver and changing coaches every cycle hasn't worked for the Blues previously so our preferred option would be to try work with the group we have but we have to make sure we get the shifts as well.”
Debate is sure to rage about the merits of reappointing Umaga, particularly with a new contract, likely to be one or two years, coming well before conclusions can be fully made about this, the final season of his initial three-year deal.
If the decision to reappoint Umaga was made well before now, as has been suggested, then waiting two more weeks to confirm the announcement leaves Redman and the Blues with egg on their faces. It is a much harder sell for all concerned in the current climate.
“When speculation starts and people are coming off contract it can be really disruptive and unsettling for them so our view would be to try nail this in the next few weeks rather than months.”
After giving head coaches Pat Lam and Sir John Kirwan the flick in recent times, the Blues appear to have gone full circle in favour of maintaining faith. This time, they still believe Umaga is the right man to turn this team around.
As it stands, with six losses from eight games this season and victory over the Jaguares at Eden Park this Saturday far from guaranteed, evidence to support Umaga's credentials is in short supply.
Improvements and successes have come under Umaga — the win over the British and Irish Lions last year the most notable. But a first playoff appearance in seven years grows more fanciful with every outing. Ultimately, this measurement matters most.
That is why the Blues had 11,000 attend their home derby match against the Highlanders last week, while across town the buoyant Warriors welcomed 18,000. The situation is so dire Redman admitted the Blues had reached out to the