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The Blues would have to be the team that I most enjoy watching lose, closely followed by the Waratahs. Probably due to Rua Tipoki’s absolutely disgraceful shot on James Hilgendorf in 2006 or the complete lack of sportsmanship shown by Blues captain Keven Mealamu and Ali Williams in not putting their hand up when they knowingly cheated for a try in Perth 2007. You could perhaps say that many players wouldn’t have admitted it but the fact is they had the opportunity and came up wanting. It is a completely indicative of the poisonous culture that grips the club. The Blues have arguably the best talent pool in the Super 14 drawing from almost half the population of the world’s best rugby nation and what do they have to show for it- one championship in the last 10 years. They should be so much better. Harsh but true.
Form from 2008
The Blues started 2008 off with a bang- rolling out the wins with a double in South Africa and reaping the four try bonus points. Only to start falling apart as soon as star fly-half Nick Evans became injured. They shambled along with some narrow wins until the ultimate embarrassment- a 37-16 loss to the Waratahs in which the all-star front row of Woodcock, Mealamu and Afoa was bent like a slinky. They never really recovered from it and finished up in 6th- 2 points out of the finals. In the ANZC the Blues feeder teams were abysmal! After taking out the comp last year, their best ranked team Northland ended up in 9th with Auckland and North Harbour in 11th and 12th. This doesn’t bode too well for the Blues. Having said that, in previous years when they’ve done well in the ANZC they’ve been pretty average in the Super 14 so who really knows.
Comings and Goings
The revolving doors of the Blues squad have once again been in full spin. We'll start with Super 14 winning coach David Nucifora coming out and Pat Lam the man groomed to replace him replacing him. Lam has coached around Auckland for quite some time and has had a successful stint with the Pacific Islanders. In as close as you can get to a straight swap the Blues have traded out Troy Flavell- a complete tool with discipline issues with Ali Williams- another complete tool with discipline issues. Let the good times roll! To add to the party younger brother Jay Williams has also joined the Blues squad. From the Blues forward stocks all star flanker Daniel Braid has moved on to the Reds while juggernaut Nick Williams and Nick White are also long gone. Dynamic Highlander backrower Josh Blackie has come in to fill the gaps.
The big two losses the Blues face are the black hole left by Isa Nacewa and Nick Evans. Any team is lucky to have two such brilliant fly-halves and is very unlucky to have lost them to Europe. Jimmy Gopperth and Tasesa Lavea are, in the words of the fat woman from Deuce Bigalow, the toothpicks trying to fill the volcano. Former junior player of the year Ben Atiga along with David Smith and George Pisi have all left the back divisions followed by halfback Danny Lee. New Zealand journeyman Chris Smylie comes into the squad at halfback.
Players to watch out for
Anthony Boric came in to the All Blacks squad this year when Brad Thorn was out with a suspension. Many pundits hailed this rising star but I thought he was pretty average and really showed up the complete lack of depth of second row stocks in New Zealand. Boric's inclusion in my players to watch out for is indicative of how uninspiring the Blues forwards are this year. Not lacking talent and experience but lacking that amazing young tyro who will bring back the vigour and enthusiasm to the old heads in the pack.
After a pretty solid debut season Benson Stanley looks set to add to his handful of caps with at least a handful more. He'll probably start on the bench at first but don't be surprised if he busts past the floppy Isaia Toeava to nail down a starting spot at 12. The kid has all the skills and the only thing that will hold him back is the lack of a mature and experienced leader in the backs who can guide him and develop him into the superstar he could well be.
Prediction in 2009
The Blues are stale. Outside of a new coach there isn't really anything exciting happening in Auckland this year. Pretty much the same old forwards who haven't really 'brought it' for a while. They are really good players but if they weren't good enough in past years why will they be this year? Meanwhile the huge amount of talent in the backs is counterbalanced by the complete lack of leadership or control out of the 9/10/12 area. It's a good thing Lam has been around the Auckland set-up for a while because if a totally new coach was brought in the Blues would be looking at a bit of a horror season. Not one of those feeder ANZC teams made the top 8! Scary. The Blues will win a handful, particularly early on before injuries strike, but in a year when the mid-table is going to be really congested could end up pretty low. I'm tipping 9th.
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Originally Posted by Burgs
