Macdonald tries to keep a lid on Blues’ expectations

In the final of a five-part series looking at the Super Rugby Aotearoa teams, Marc Hinton assesses the buoyant Blues.

Leon Macdonald gets them. A lot. You know the people, rushing up to him at the supermarket, or the cafe, or in the street, full of hope and excitement, proclaiming: ‘‘This is our year.’’

The Blues coach tends to smile and nod reassuringly. He loves the optimism as much as he treasures the support. Who is he to point out how tough that pathway is and how difficult the Crusaders are to budge from that throne.

But could this really be the Blues’ year, after nearly a decade of false dawns and disappointments? Could New Zealand’s most populous and rugby-rich region be finally ready to deliver on all that promise it clearly possesses?

There is certainly that vibe around his squad this year, following on from the giant strides they took in 2020 when they went 6-2 in Super Rugby proper before it shut down, and then 5-2 in the post-covid Aotearoa competition to finish runners-up behind the Crusaders.

Yes, they’ve lost Beauden Barrett to his Japan sabbatical, and that’s a blow. But their squad still looks powerful (the addition of Nepo Laulala gives them four All Blacks props), their depth formidable and they are still dripping with X-factor courtesy of the Ioane brothers, Hoskins Sotutu, skipper Patrick Tuipulotu and strike weapons Caleb Clarke and Mark Telea.

The Blues faithful sense it too.

Last year they would have sold Eden Park out twice had that final clash against the Crusaders not been cruelly rubbed out by the Covid outbreak in the community. They are a hot ticket again because they are playing entertaining football AND they are winning.

Macdonald doesn’t mind those well-wishers reminding him this is their year. ‘‘There are a lot of people out there that care about this team and want us to do well,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s something we are really proud of and is a positive for us.

‘‘There are expectations every year . . . but that’s a good thing. We’ve talked about it. It’s great, it fuels us. Still, if you haven’t won a competition, you haven’t won a competition.

‘‘So nothing has really changed in our books. We go out there and start again. It’s 0-0 for every team, everyone has the same ambition, everyone is confident and we all

Forwards: Ray Niuia, Kurt Eklund, Soane Vikena, Alex Hodgman, Nepo Laulala, James Lay, Marcel Renata, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Gerard Cowley-tuioti, Sam Darry, Josh Goodhue, Jacob Pierce, Patrick Tuipulotu, Blake Gibson, Dillon Hunt, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papalii, Taine Plumtree, Tom Robinson, Hoskins Sotutu.

Backs: Finlay Christie, Sam Nock, Jonathan Ruru, Otere Black, Stephen Perofeta, Harry Plummer, TJ Faiane, Rieko Ioane, Tanielu Tele’a, Bryce Heem, Caleb Clarke, AJ Lam, Jone Macilai-tori (out for season), Emoni Narawa, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-kneepkens, Zarn Sullivan, Mark Telea.

Ins: Nepo Laulala, Soane Vikena, James Lay, Sam Darry, Dillon Hunt, Taine Plumtree, Bryce Heem, AJ Lam, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-kneepkens, Zarn Sullivan.

Outs: Beauden Barrett, Matt Duffie, Ezekiel Lindenmuth, Sione Mafileo, Tony Lamborn, Waimana Riedlinger-kapa, Jack Heighton, Joe Marchant, Jordan Hyland, Jared Page.

TAB odds (regular season winner): $4.50

know the margins are really fine.

‘‘We will use expectations to fuel us as we keep working really hard on what we’re trying to achieve and that’s ultimately to win a title.’’

To do that, the Blues must make one important improvement from

last year: they have to figure out the way home in close matches.

It’s the missing piece in their makeup. They have a powerful and dominant pack and a backline that oozes X-factor and finishing power. But it can’t all be big hits and sizzling steps. They have to learn how to play with a lead late; how to change tactics when it’s required; how to put the squeeze on when it’s called for.

And, adds Macdonald, how to stay the course through the grind of a Kiwi derby every week and the exacting questions that task poses.

‘‘A lot of it is mental – the ability to get back up the fourth week in a row when you’ve had three massive weeks and there’s pressure and big crowds and do-or-die games because they’re nearly all like that. You feel like you drop one game you’re right behind the pack.

‘‘We found we just lost an edge a couple of times last year. It’s only marginal but you end up losing by a point. We have to be on from Monday every week of this competition.’’

If they are they will be hard to roll. They will miss Barrett’s allworld class, but in Otere Black,

Stephen Perofeta (fullback for week one) and Harry Plummer they have solid stand-ins.

They are a little light at hooker and possibly alongside Tuipulotu in the second row. But everywhere else they drip class. The loose forward reservoir is deep and if youngsters Jacob Ratumaitavuki-kneepkens and Zarn Sullivan make the strides expected, they have options aplenty around the back three.

But talent has never been the Blues’ issue. It’s more about nous and tactics and mental strength, as forwards coach Tom Coventry acknowledges.

‘‘We’re still not good enough,’’ he said. ‘‘We weren’t good enough last year. The Crusaders still won it with a game in hand. They’re still the benchmark, and we’re striving to grab that. We want to be the benchmark, we want a title and to get it we have to learn from our experiences last year.’’