USING THE RESOURCES WISELY
With veteran Nonu returning for his third stint at the Blues, Sonny Bill Williams and the similarly large Levi Aumua (a new arrival from Tasman) vying for the midfield places, this may well be the Blues’ main area of strength.
They have a solid pack, and the arrival of loosehead prop Karl Tu’inukuafe from the Chiefs helps enormously here.
They have good loose forwards too in Dalton Papalii, a new All Black, Blake Gibson and Akira Ioane.
Lock Patrick Tuipolotu, a co-captain with Gibson, is due for a good season as he pushes for a World Cup place.
Left wing Rieko Ioane is one of the best players in world rugby, a tryscoring machine who is a nightmare to defend against.
And after flirting with the midfield last year (often to his detriment, unfortunately), Ioane will almost definitely be kept in the No 11 jersey this year.
But perhaps their greatest advantage will come from a coaching group that seems significantly higher powered than anything the Blues have had in a long time.
The word is that MacDonald has already made some positive changes and forwards coach Coventry, who helped turn North Harbour into a force to be reckoned with, demands high standards and is likely to get them.