Blues have become
New Zealand rugby has been overwhelmingly coached, captained and ruled by white men. And so the biggest challenge for Ian Foster, in his new role as All Blacks coach, is to empower the astonishing black talent rampaging through Super Rugby.
The winning Chiefs team of 2012 and 2013 under Dave Rennie and Wayne Smith unleashed the potential. The Crusaders have touched on it. Now the Blues are doing something very special. All these teams thrive through connection. All these teams thrive through letting players be who they are and not trying to mould them into something different.
That is something which was falling apart at the All Blacks over the last five years.
Leon MacDonald, the coach of the Blues, said that ‘‘connection is a word that we use a lot’’. Aaron Cruden saw it in the opposition and said, ‘‘They’re connected, they understand what they’re trying to do.’’ And that connection is about letting all the voices be heard and understanding that shy people, sometimes inarticulate people, may have just as much to contribute as the smart talkers.
MacDonald said: ‘‘You can turn up and be yourself and not pretend to be someone you’re not
. . . Quirky is cool.’’
It’s a simple example, but that means short back and sides are not mandatory. If Patrick Tuipulotu or Akira Ioane or Hoskins Sotutu or Sam Knock or Rieko Ioane want bleached or pink hair, then let them be.
Look at the difference the new culture is making to the Blues. Rieko Ioane is reborn. The pace, power, belief and sheer love of playing footy are all surging through his game. The question for Foster is not now whether to pick him, but where to play him.
The best second row forward in New Zealand right now, and by some distance, is Tuipulotu. Every level of his game has gone up. MacDonald acknowledged they have worked on his scrummaging. His lineout work has taken. And all that success in the tight frees up Tuipulotu to carry and defend like only he can.
MacDonald said: ‘‘His defensive work’s been enormous this year. He’s worked hard at his scrummaging. All the little bits that we do not see have grown.’’
Beauden Barrett said: ‘‘[Tuipulotu’s] leading by example. He’s really putting it on the boys to deliver.’’
I had doubt about the wisdom of giving Tuipulotu the captaincy.
Manipulating referees is an art form that I doubted his skill at compared to, say, a TJ Perenara. But you can see he has become a figurehead for the team. In 2016 he was made a chief in Samoa. That status is evident in Tuipulotu’s leadership of the Blues.
There is no better example than the emergence of Sotutu, a young man who has a talent that