Time for Blues to build on young foundation - Season Review
One apt analogy for the hapless Blues franchise could be that of a very frustrating puzzle.
While all of the pieces are presented in front of head coach Tana Umaga, he just can’t seem to make them fit.
The side – brimming with young but unproven talent – showed promise in the early stages of the competition, with narrow losses against the conference rival Highlanders and Chiefs to open the season before beating the Lions – back to back finalists – at Ellis Park. Unfortunately, that promise faded not long after as the Blues would drop their next four games and maintain their luckless bottom-dwelling.
After finishing 11th and ninth in his first two years at the helm, fans and pundits called for Umaga’s head. Instead, halfway through the 2018 campaign and with the team sitting on three wins from their first 11 games, he was given an extension until the end of the 2019 season.
With one week left to play, 2018 will see Umaga and the Blues retain their spot at the bottom of the New Zealand conference, where they have been stuck since 2014.
They slumped to an abysmal 1-7 record at Eden Park, saving themselves from a dreaded 0-8 home ground whitewash with a 39-17 victory over the Queensland Reds in their final home game of the year.
Umaga’s win percentage with the Blues has fallen from 50% at the start of the year to 42%, and they currently sit 14th on the overall table, which is where they finished in John Kirwan’s third and final season in charge back in 2015.
The Blues have also dropped their last 18 games against New Zealand opposition, a staggering figure that just won’t fly with Super Rugby’s current format.
If the former All Black captain can’t get his team trending back in the right direction, that 12-month extension may have been his last.
One of the main reasons for the Blues’ woes simply has to be Umaga’s inconsistency with player selection.
Sure, injuries to key figures Sonny Bill Williams and Augustine Pulu haven’t helped, but even when healthy it seems a completely new backline trots out for the Blues each week.
While young star Rieko Ioane has appeared in 14 matches for the Blues this season, he hasn’t been able to play consistent minutes at any one position.
This season Ioane – arguably the world’s best winger – has played with four different numbers on the back of his jersey.
11 – four times, 12 – six times, 13 – three times, and 14 – once.
Umaga – through injury or otherwise – has used an astounding ten different midfield combinations this season, chopping and changing between seven different players.
The Blues’ most common midfield partnership has only been used three times, and the longest standing partnership at any point in the season has only lasted two weeks. It’s tough to imagine how any team can gel or create chemistry with such high levels of uncertainty heading into each week. Training must be an absolute nightmare.
For comparison, the Crusaders have used four different midfield combinations this season, the most common being a Jack Goodhue-Ryan Crotty pairing (eight times), with Tim Bateman covering injury for both Crotty and Goodhue, slotting in at either 12 or 13 in their respective absences. The only other combination was a Seta Tamanivalu-David Havili midfield with Goodhue, Crotty and Bateman not in the matchday 23.
Fortunately for the Blues, one has to think that things can only get better. The pieces are certainly there. While young, no one can deny the talent the Blues have at their disposal.
This brings us back to the puzzle analogy from earlier. How can Tana Umaga fit all of his pieces together?
The Ioane brothers, both reportedly locked in for the next few years – it remains to be seen how much money has been invested in the pair – are the cornerstones of the franchise, and now it’s all about their development and building the supporting cast.
The forward pack is anchored by All Blacks in key positions, with a talented back row shaping as a focal point moving forward.
Ofa Tu’ungafasi leads the front row – supported by aging veterans Pauliasi Manu and James Parsons, 25-year-old All Black lock Patrick Tuipulotu marshals the second row and right up until the end of his New Zealand career, Jerome Kaino has been a prominent figure in the back row.
Kaino’s departure leaves the door open for youngster Dalton Papalii – still just 20 years old – to stake his claim and join the gritty Blake Gibson and impressive Akira Ioane – who has been one of Super Rugby’s most dominant forces with ball in hand and is one of two Blues to have played in every game this season – in an exciting back row the Blues can build around, packed with potency and potential.
Looking to the backline, the Blues seem to be sticking with age-grade star Sam Nock as the long-term answer at halfback, and they may have finally found the No. 10 they have long been searching for in Stephen Perofeta.
Still just 21 years old and in his first season of Super Rugby, the Taranaki pivot has all the tools to be a great 10 and plenty of time left to develop. Perofeta is a confident ball carrier who is still learning how to make his teammates better, which will improve as he matures.
In terms of numbers, Perofeta shapes as an excellent player with ball in hand. He breaks the line once every 5.92 carries – good for first at his position – and ranks fourth among first five-eighths in run metres per game, fourth in tackle busts and is top ten in terms of runs per game.
For reference, Damian McKenzie manages a line break every 8.75 carries, while Beauden Barrett’s figure is at 9.63. Perofeta’s playmaking numbers are getting there too. His 1.4 line break assists per game are sixth among first five-eighths.
READ MORE: The Pero-future is here, and it’s better than you think
With Otere Black – impressive at the provincial level but still largely unproven in Super Rugby – returning next year and New Zealand U20 vice-captain Harry Plummer joining the ranks, the Blues have finally made significant strides towards shoring up the No. 10 jersey. As Sonny Bill Williams nears the end of his career and comes off-contract at the end of next year, we may even see the Blues opt for a two-headed dragon with a pair of playmakers in the 10 and 12 jerseys.
Umaga’s inability to settle on his midfield may be solved by the addition of new assistant coach Leon MacDonald, who helped orchestrate the Crusaders’ champion backline last season. It would seem that when healthy, Sonny Bill Williams and Rieko Ioane are the ideal pairing in the middle – though this partnership has only been used twice this season. As previously mentioned, with Williams’ impending contract conclusion and eventual retirement – along with the exit of longtime midfield occupant George Moala – the Blues will soon have to lock down their midfield of the future.
With Rieko Ioane taking one spot, the second spot will likely come down to a battle between four young players: TJ Faiane, Orbyn Leger, Tamati Tua and Tanielu Tele’a – all of whom were NZ U20 representatives within the last three years, with Faiane the elder statesman at 22 years old.
A permanent midfield move for Ioane would also help declutter the back three, and allow promising 19-year-old winger Caleb Clarke to improve on the four appearances he has managed this season. Matt Duffie, Melani Nanai and Michael Collins add to an impressive outside back stable.
The Blues may still be a work in progress for a couple more seasons, but it’s without a doubt that with clear direction and increased experience the Auckland-based franchise has the foundation to build something special in the near future.
Hopefully, it won’t be long until the pieces finally fall into place.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Can’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to comments