Scotty Stevenson: The real problem with the Blues
Another week, another defeat and yet another search for a solution to the Blues’ never-ending sob story. Well, you can blame the players and the coaches and the administrators as much as you like, but the real problem for the Blues is the very city they call home.
I’m not in the business of excusing poor performances so let’s be clear here: On Friday night at Eden Park, a ten minute spell of criminal-level inattentiveness cost the Blues a victory against a depleted Chiefs side that should have never been allowed to set a new record for the longest undefeated streak against a single opponent in the history of Super Rugby. That is a cold, hard fact and no one in the Blues set up could, or would, argue with it.
It has become almost inevitable that in the tight moments in New Zealand conference games, the Blues will find a way to come off second best. They have won just once in their last 24 domestic match-ups (which is as niggly a stat as ever laid down on paper) and even though none of their last nine defeats against fellow kiwi sides have been of the double-digit variety, what does that really matter in a two-horse race?
Here’s the thing, though: there is a pattern of behaviour here that cannot be attributed to bad coaching, or lack of talent, because the Blues suffer from neither. They do not lack for ball carriers or tacklers, or line out jumpers or scrummagers; they do not undertake any less analysis than the opposition, nor can they cry poor when it comes to access to decent facilities or technical expertise. The only thing they are missing is some old-fashioned self belief, and the reason for that is, unlike the other four clubs in the country, their very environment works against them.
The standard question every season is this: Why do the Blues struggle so much when many Auckland-born and raised players leave Auckland and become lynchpin players in other, more successful franchises? The answer is in the question: they leave Auckland.
Auckland has many admirable qualities, but its roads are as congested as an emphysemic’s lungs which makes getting around the place a pain in the ass. The problem is only exacerbated by the fact that on any scale – not just a New Zealand scale – Auckland is also a big place, and Blues players and staff happen to live all over the damn show. You can’t blame them for that, because housing and rental costs are also so monumentally screwy that it would be impossible for them all to live near their central training base, even if any of them wanted to.
Let me tell you why that is a problem. In Dunedin, God Bless it, you don’t have to plan three weeks in advance to catch up with your team mates for coffee. In Wellington, you could Uber from the CBD to the airport for less than the price of a couple of Ponsonby coffees. In Hamilton, you leave your house for training five minutes before the official warm up, and in Christchurch – a city that could claim to suffer from its own case of shitty traffic, you can find a house so close to Rugby Park that you could kick goals from your own backyard.
The net result is that every other team can afford to build the invisible strands of comradeship that comprise a team’s deep culture. They do so by hanging around after training, by catching up for a cuppa and a chat before heading home, by invariably living in each other’s pockets, playing pick up games of one-on-one, learning about what makes their team mates tick so that when they are down they can press the appropriate buttons to bring them back up. That builds trust, reliance, and a shared belief in success and team work.
You cannot hope to do that when you are rushing away from training in order to beat the rush hour.
I am not about to claim that the Blues don’t have a great team spirit, but how are they supposed to develop the kind of camaraderie that comes from the close connections enjoyed by the other New Zealand clubs? They can’t. They are the victims of the geographic and human realities of the very city they wish to represent, and those that leave are not deserting the Blues, they are searching for something more meaningful than a big city life. That is a paradox that cannot be solved by team talks and trust falls.
Yes, there have been some batshit crazy Blues plays in the last few years, but every team has been guilty of those. What every other team has been able to do is fall back on their collective spirit to find a way to succeed. That collective spirit is the thing that the Blues need most, and yet it will remain the hardest for them to attain.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments