Umaga demands Blues sacrifices to reach finals
For all the positivity the Blues won back by the end of last season, Tana Umaga knows that will be swiftly eroded if they don’t kick on and make the playoffs this year. The reality of professional sport is last year means nothing now. Another nearly man, confidencebuilding, finish won’t be acceptable this time around.
Results-wise the Blues’ 2016 campaign was their best in five years; the first time since 2011 they recorded more wins that losses. Electric finisher Melani Nanai and recalled All Blacks loose forward Steven Luatua shone through as Umaga enjoyed the grace period afforded to all rookie Super Rugby coaches.
Attacking fluency and committed defence were widely evident at the backend, but the Blues missed the post-season once again.
Refusing to be content with progress, Umaga recruited 11 new players – Sonny Bill Williams, Augustine Pulu, Jimmy Tupou and Pauliasi Manu among them – and changed half his coaching team. Steve Jackson, Umaga’s hardnosed forwards coach at Counties Manukau, replaces Glenn Moore and Dave Ellis takes over skills duties from Paul Feeney, with Alistair Rogers retaining the defence brief.
Nothing less than a top-six playoff berth will be considered a successful season.
‘‘On paper we’ve got the side to do it but paper doesn’t play and that’s what we’ve got to get right,’’ Umaga said this week.
‘‘We’ve had good sides on paper before and still haven’t got the results. We’re demanding the players make some sacrifices because that’s what it’s going to take.
‘‘Those that sacrifice the most and are willing to fight for what they want usually get the results when it means a bit more. We’ve tried to implement that this year.’’
Given the way the Blues finished last season, knocking over Australia’s two best teams the Waratahs and Brumbies when out of contention, year two under Umaga brings added expectations and pressure from an ever hopeful Auckland region long deprived of success.
‘‘People saw the shifts we made after June but in the end we still finished last out of the New Zealand teams. We improved a bit but all we’ve really done is raise an expectation for this year. We understand that’s how it is.
‘‘I’m now very used to pressure, scrutiny. It’s how we deal with that. I’m trying to lift our expectations higher than anything
People saw the shifts we made after June but in the end we still finished last out of the New Zealand teams. Tana Umaga
else so when they do hear things it’s like ‘I already know that. I hold myself accountable to a different level’. If anything drops we can judge that.
‘‘We’ve got to build a higher expectation of the standards we set. Everyone understands we want to get the Blues back to where they used to be. The players have to understand it’s not just a now and then thing. It’s not just you come in at 7am and clock out at 5. That takes some mind shifts and habit changes and it doesn’t happen overnight but we’re getting there.’’
To take the next step the Blues must start coming up trumps in Kiwi derbies.
Last year they won one, the opening game against the Highlanders. Five other local match-ups produced five losses – two each to the Crusaders and Hurricanes and one defeat to the Chiefs.
The standard and depth of New Zealand rugby won’t drop in a British and Irish Lions year, so the Blues task doesn’t get any easier on this front. Four of Super Rugby’s top five teams came from New Zealand last year and it would be no surprise to see a repeat.
‘‘They’re not just going to roll over and give it to us,’’ Umaga acknowledges.
Rotation forms a key pillar in Umaga’s plans this season. When possible, he is intent on picking his moments to manage players, though will be keen to avoid the 28-13 round-two loss to the Crusaders when he paid the price for making too many changes.
‘‘We’ve got to a stage now where we’ve got to rely on the whole squad, not just one or two players. You have to do that to win championships. Our All Blacks can’t do everything and we believe we’ve got some good competition for positions right across the board.
‘‘We can’t just think we can turn out the same group every weekend and think we’re going to do well.’’