Coach is like a Lam to slaughter

All you wanted then was for Auckland to lose and things are not a lot different now.

I FEEL sorry for Pat Lam.

The Blues coach has taken a veritable mountain of manure from the rugby community as his side has lurched from one inept performance to the next in the Super 15 competition.

It's nothing personal of course ... well not at least from those who are true rugby nuts.

From all accounts, you wouldn't wish to meet a nicer, friendlier bloke than the man himself.

Indeed those who know him well say he is actually too nice for his own good.

Lam's crime, if you can call it that, is being boss of a squad which just happens to be based in Auckland.

We all hate Aucklanders, don't we?

Especially those of us who grew up at a time when the constant rugby refrain was: "When Auckland rugby is strong, New Zealand rugby is strong."

All you wanted then was for Auckland to lose and things are not a lot different now.

Even though they can no longer claim to be the victim of any "tall poppy syndrome", not in the true sense of the words anyway.

All that aside however, anybody with even a tinge of goodness about them should have at least some sympathy for Lam.

I know you would expect a region as big as that serviced by the Blues to have depth in bucketloads but when you have big names like Jerome Kaino and Isaia Toeava ruled out by injury for the whole season and fellow All Blacks Kevin Mealamu, Tony Woodcock and Anthony Boric sidelined for several weeks then the odds are starting to count against you, aren't they?

It's always worth remembering too players don't always do what coaches want.

For instance one of the worst aspects of the Blues play this season has been their inability to sort out who does what when the opposition team is restarting play.

On the face of it, you'd think they'd have their tactics in that department worked out better than anyone else because they have been getting more practise at it. But time and again, the ball has either gone to open spaces or been spilled.

You can bet Lam has gone blue in the face in explaining to his players exactly what is expected of them there and exhorting them to lift their act but all to no avail.

To me the fault lies more with the players than him, much more.

If they can't see for themselves what is happening and do something about it then they hardly deserve to be paid good money for their services, do they?

You'll never convince me either that Lam should shoulder the majority of the blame for the poor option-taking which has consistently marred the Blues back play.

Matthewson, Weepu, Nonu, Stanley, Ranger, Hobbs, Wulf and company have played top level rugby for some considerable time and making the right judgment calls should surely be second nature for them.

It's all about thinking on your feet and, quite frankly, they don't seem to be doing a lot of it ... thinking that is.

Headless chickens is a phrase which comes to mind.

By the time you read this column, the Blues would have completed their latest Super 15 assignment, against the Hurricanes at the Cake Tin last night.

To me the result of this game will have told you a lot more about those who actually ran on to the field for the Blues than those sitting in the coaching box, and not so much by who won and who lost but by the level of commitment and desire shown.

Under normal circumstances, you would expect the Blues to have had a slight edge over a Hurricanes team whose own inadequacies have been highlighted by the losses to the Crusaders and the Chiefs in their previous two games.

But even more so when you consider the harsh criticism the Blues had been taking from all and sundry leading into this match.

If they failed to lift themselves for this one then those who have been calling for Lam's head should have 20 or more other names on their hit list as well.