They had a late, late coaching reshuffle and have brought in a couple of new players.

So will 2019 be the year the Blues finally come right?

A couple of issues strike immediately when looking at the Blues squad, and it’s something that has hurt them for years.

The first is, do they have a competition-winning No 10? The answer here with regards to Perofeta and Black is probably, no.

Black was signed in 2017 but didn’t play a match last year due to injury, while Perofeta impressed initially with a fine performance in Johannesburg as the Blues upset the Lions, but there weren’t enough consistently excellent performances.

That’s perhaps not surprising given the quality (or lack of) ball he got and assistant coach Coventry will be asking hard questions of his forwards here.

The other main issue is a potential lack of depth and the inability of less experienced players to make the most of their opportunities when they get the chance.

It’s difficult to remember when a younger player really stood out and demanded selection, whereas at the Crusaders it happens time and again (maybe an unfair comparison given the consistent excellence of the defending champions but they are the yardstick to which other teams should measure themselves).

For the Blues, one or two injuries to their big-hitters and the team invariably looks far weaker.