Coaches can't do anything right

One thing I don't get though, is why people are riding the Blues ...

SIR John Kirwan hit the nail on the head when he warned fans earlier this year to strap in because the Blues' season would be a roller coaster, so why are people on his case?

One of the exciting aspects of the Blues season has been the unknown. No one knew that in game one they would stun the Hurricanes and romp home 34-20, never mind game two when they annihilated the Crusaders 34-15.

With a side which is lacking experience, Kirwan did a top job in keeping the young side grounded after a strong start to the season. For Kirwan though, this strong start meant media jumped on the bandwagon to rave about the Blues being semi-final contenders after just a handful of games. I remember thinking, "chill out bro, there's still a long way to go".

After close losses to the Bulls and Waratahs, Kirwan sent his side into a soul search to get them back onboard.

With the Blues bouncing back, and bringing the play-offs back into contention, they started to snare much needed wins. A big feat for such a young, and inexperienced, side.

One thing I don't get though, is why people are riding the Blues and saying they should be disappointed with their season.

The situation can be likened to any Taniwha season where coaches are given heaps by fans for not selecting enough locals, when in fact there are only a handful of outsiders selected as a necessity to field consistently strong line-ups. It seems in today's day and age coaches can't do anything right.

If the Blues were to make the play-offs, Kirwan would have been hailed a hero and a miracle-maker. But, seeing as they did not make this weekend's play-offs he is somehow a disappointment, kind of like when someone builds you up only to let you down. What did people expect though? It is an inexperienced team, of course they are going to struggle to beat South African sides at home when, for the majority anyway, it is probably one of their first experiences against them.

However, seeing the Blues produce an exciting season gives me hope that we can see the Taniwha do the same.

Going back to the struggle coaches have to keep fans happy. What would you rather see in the ITM Cup; a team full of Northlanders has two wins over the season, or a mixture of Northlanders and buy-ins who win seven games?

Let us know what you think at sports@northernadvocate.co.nz.