Blues boss backs Umaga

The Blues are ready to take a leaf out of the All Blacks book circa 2007 as they get set to hand head coach Tana Umaga a new deal that will not be popular with some long-suffering fans.

Umaga’s Blues boss Michael Redman all but rubber-stamped his reappointment as coach of New Zealand’s perennial Super Rugby under-achievers when he took the unusual step of calling his own press conference on Tuesday to throw his support behind the former All Blacks captain.

This despite Umaga, who is in the final term of a three-year contract with the Blues, showing no signs of taking the club to any promised land just yet.

The Blues have just two wins from eight matches in 2018 and sit second from bottom on the overall standings with just 12 points. They are seven points off the eighth, and final, qualifying spot for the playoffs, and have now gone 15 winless matches in Kiwi ‘‘derbies’’.

In fact, the Blues have won just one of their last 26 matches against fellow New Zealand sides, and are heading for a fifth straight season as Kiwi conference wooden-spooners.

The franchise has made the playoffs just once over the last decade and hasn’t won a championship since 2003. Their best finish in the previous half-dozen years has been the ninth-place effort last year, and they are not tracking to improve on that in 2018.

Redman indicated that the Blues, in conjunction with New Zealand Rugby, hoped to have a decision made on the coaching group for next year and beyond over the next few weeks.

And, given his comments you can take it as read that it will almost certainly involve the reappointment of the former All Blacks skipper to continue on with his reclamation job.

‘‘There is plenty of support for Tana within New Zealand Rugby and the Blues,’’ said Redman. ‘‘We think he’s got a great rugby brain, he has the respect of the players, and he has my support and that of the board.

‘‘So we’ll work through the process to determine what the coaching group looks like.’’

Redman confirmed Umaga was keen to continue in the role and all but endorsed him for it when he responded to a question asking what was wrong with the struggling franchise.

‘‘We’re part of a system ... the fully professional end of that system, but all the parts of that system need to work. What we can control is our environment, and the quality of people we bring into our environment, and the resources and culture we have around them.

‘‘We haven’t been able to deliver and changing coaches every cycle hasn’t worked for the Blues previously ... our preferred option would be to try to work with the group we have.