Trying to

Something had to be done in a bid to stop the rot. The Blues’ new-look board knew they could not afford to sit on their hands and allow the blazing trainwreck of a franchise to continue on the same old futile road.

Hence why they fast-tracked Leon MacDonald into the coaching hot seat last month, a move which demoted Tana Umaga to an assistant coaching role after three dismal years calling the shots.

It was the second notable piece of news out of the grossly underperforming side since the 2018 season concluded in early August, perhaps a reason for the tortured fan base to believe brighter days loom.

The first whiff of change came in late August, after New Zealand Rugby (NZR) completed an independent review of the franchise’s governance structure, and the team’s 4-12 campaign this year.

It resulted in NZR taking back its 40 per cent stake in the franchise on an interim basis, and a vow from the governing body to form a board capable of digging the Blues out of a hole.

They appointed provincial union directors Kate Daly, Brian Wilsher and Shaun Nixon to the board, joining former All Blacks coach John Hart, Richard Dellabarca, Sam Lotu-liga and outgoing chairman Tony Carter.

In the months since, armed with player feedback, they clearly decided enough was enough.

As theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once said: ‘‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.’’

Umaga couldn’t remain in charge for a fourth year. Not after failing to guide a talentladen squad to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Going 8-1-6 in 2016 was forgiven. Regressing to 7-1-7 last year was frowned upon. Laying an egg in 2018 – they went 4-12 – was unforgivable.

And so it’s up to MacDonald, who initially signed as Umaga’s attack coach on a three-year deal, to make the Blues relevant again.

Dead last among the five New Zealand Super teams each of the last five seasons it goes without saying the former All Black, Crusader and Crusaders assistant coach has a mountain of work to do.

He made his first notable move last week, dumping