Duffie relishes chance to show his skills
Blues outside back Matt Duffie has yet to renew his contract with the franchise and says he is potentially “jobless” at the end of the year.
But having been selected to start his first match of the season against the Brumbies in Canberra after recovering from a serious hamstring injury, he at last has an extended opportunity to prove his credentials to coach Leon MacDonald.
As the father of a seven-month-old daughter, Duffie is more aware than ever of the need for patience, but his has been sorely tested this season. His comeback from an injury suffered playing for Harbour last year has taken longer than expected, and he has had to work his way back into the team via two matches off the bench.
Rieko Ioane’s All Blacks rest week has helped Duffie’s case to be involved from the start at GIO Stadium tonight and he is determined to make the most of it.
“As soon as I was injured, I wanted to be back in round one,” he told the Weekend Herald. “I didn’t want to miss any games. With Leon coming, there were going to be a few changes and I really wanted to be a part of it.
“You make a plan and you want to attack it as aggressively as you can but it has taken longer than I thought. Maybe it was false optimism. You have to remember we had a block of four games where the boys were winning and playing unreal and I probably wasn’t healing as quickly as I thought.
“I’ve had surgeries in the past but they have been for joint injuries and not soft tissue — it was a bit nigglier than I thought.”
That’s putting it mildly on many levels. Duffie, 28, had several shoulder and knee operations during his successful league career in Australia before returning to rugby with the Blues in 2016, and his injury last year playing in the Mitre 10 Cup saw his hamstring torn off the bone.
This is a key game for Duffie and the Blues, who are 11th but still in striking distance. A good performance would help confidence levels ahead of home games against the Hurricanes and Chiefs and it could be a platform for Duffie’s talents.
An All Black for two non-test matches in 2017, Duffie isn’t a power wing like Caleb Clarke or the still suspended Tanielu Tele’a, but his positional play can’t be faulted and he is superb under the high ball, both defensively and offensively.