Blues legend Xavier Rush urges New Zealand rugby to embrace league tactics to keep up with the world game

Xavier Rush is the last Blues captain to win a full Super Rugby title. Photo / Photosport

Xavier Rush was the last Blues captain to lift a genuine Super Rugby trophy, over two decades ago.

The franchise did win a contrived tournament during the Covid mess. But most people - including current players - rate the 2003 triumph over the mighty Crusaders at Eden Park as the Blues’ last real title success.

The 46-year-old Rush was a central figure in Auckland rugby from the late 1990s to 2005 during which he also played eight tests, before a successful 130-game career for the Cardiff Blues.

On the eve of Saturday night’s final between the Blues and Chiefs to decide the 2024 crown, Rush told the Herald from his home in Cardiff that his old team’s lack of Super Rugby success since 2003 was annoying.

Rush looks back at that 2003 final against Richie McCaw and co, ponders why the Blues have had such a bad run since then, advocates for more league coaches to be employed in New Zealand rugby, reveals one factor that made Sir Graham Henry such a special coach, talks about his life in Cardiff, and explains why his family is split over Saturday night’s final.

Your favourite memories from playing in the Blues… do any teammates stick out?

You never forget the first time making it into a team like the Blues. I think every player was, or had been, an All Black at the time. Everyone was driving flash Ford XR6s.

I was plucked off a building site where I was doing my best to leave at least one piece of timber square that day.

[Coach] Graham Henry phoned and asked if I’d like to join the Blues for a tour of Britain, France and South Africa. I think I said “that would be nice”.

I was just 19… I parked my beat-up Mazda a few hundred yards away from those flash new Fords.

Robin and Zinzan Brooke were always good to the younger players.

My favourite years were 2002/03 with the Blues.

That was a powerful Crusaders team you beat in the final… Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Justin Marshall, Brad Thorn et al. Do you recall the Blues’ tactics for the game, and did they play out?

We had gone through 2003 without too many hiccups… which isn’t always a good thing.

We had a lot of confidence in the way we were playing. Sam Tuitupou was giving us a lot of go-forward that season which was a bit odd because he was one of the smallest players on the park. But he was just so tough.

We had a mobile, hard-working forward pack. Ali Williams was great at lineouts, Kees Meeuws bolstered the scrum. And King Carlos [Carlos Spencer] had a star-studded backline to set alight.

However, the final didn’t turn out that way. The Crusaders heavily marked Sammy T which stopped us getting on the front foot and after 40 minutes, we hadn’t established ourselves in the game.

We were holding on too tight. I remember rallying the boys at halftime in our huddle, saying “stop worrying about winning or losing, let’s play, let’s fire some shots”. To a man, everyone nodded, took a deep breath and engaged.

We had to change tactics… we got go-forward through a few driving lineouts, which wasn’t what we had trained for. But it worked - Daniel Braid popped up at the bottom of a maul with one of the ugliest and most important tries of the season.

It wasn’t our prettiest win that night, but it was our best. We had to earn it because the Crusaders played a great final.

The memories of the next few days will last a lifetime.

Can you believe the Blues have not won a genuine Super Rugby title since? Why so?

It annoys me because Auckland has some of the strongest school rugby in the world, if not the strongest. If you wanted a nursery to choose talent from, I would choose Auckland schools rugby. Graham Henry was so good at bringing that young talent through. His ability to recognise talent is second to none.

Do you watch much Super Rugby – do you like to keep up with the New Zealand and Southern Hemisphere game?

I watch mainly All Blacks rugby if I’m honest, but I keep up with the Blues games when I can.

Any thoughts on Super Rugby topics… such as South Africa’s departure from it?

It’s a big shame South Africa is no longer part of Super Rugby. Some of my best memories are touring South Africa. And it kept the product to the very highest standard.

Do you watch a lot of European rugby, either live or on TV?

I don’t, to be honest.

Do you go to All Blacks games in Europe… the atmosphere at their major grounds is amazing.

I always head along whenever they play in Cardiff, praying that we keep our 70-year unbeaten record intact.

It’s the best stadium and town in the world for games or concerts, and the Welsh people, arguably, are the best supporters in the world.

I don’t know of any other supporters who would keep turning up after 70 years of being beaten by the All Blacks still exhibiting the same passion, along with an unbreakable belief that this is going to be their year.

Any thoughts on the current Blues team, and whether they can lay the foundations for sustained success?

I haven’t seen enough… but they seem to have good people involved at the moment. I have never been in a sports team that won anything without a great head coach. Auckland has the talent, but it’s all about having the right person at the helm.

What factors encouraged you to live in Cardiff, do you have family there, and how did you get into the hair replacement business?

Business is the main reason I stayed in Cardiff. I split my time between property development and my hair transplant clinic.

If I’m honest… vanity got me into the hair transplant business. I wasn’t handsome enough to pull off the shaved look.

There are not many procedures a man can have that take 10-plus years off his appearance in a single day of surgery. It also restores confidence and gives joy back to the individual.

I would love to partner with a clinic back in Auckland and get New Zealand men hairy again.

I’m married to a beautiful, funny Welsh girl. We have five children, two dogs and two cats… and a hectic, joyful, rewarding life.

Is there much contact between players from that champion 2003 Blues team… what about with any ex-New Zealand players in Europe?

There is a fair bit of contact. We are all linked up in WhatsApp groups.

Speaking of overseas… should the rule banning the selection of foreign-based players, allied to the sabbatical system available for a selected few, be retained by the All Blacks?

I’ll look at the bigger picture in answer to that.

The All Blacks played the best rugby I’ve seen from them for a while over the past two years.

I believe the inclusion of Joe Schmidt on the coaching staff was a very good decision, and the forward pack coach Jason Ryan did a great job turning the tide after the home series losses to Ireland.

The All Blacks’ game didn’t evolve from 2016-2021. We still had great players, but we were playing into better defences.

I’ve seen the transition and been involved in the transition of the game over here. The biggest change has been the inclusion of rugby league coaches.

At first, it was just in coaching defence but with Ireland now having an ex-league head coach you can start to see changes in attack. That makes a lot of sense to me, because you can’t break down league defences using rugby attacking shapes.

You can see the difference Shaun Edwards has made to French and Welsh rugby, the difference Andy Farrell has made to Irish rugby.

I feel the All Blacks have missed a trick here in not having more of a rugby league influence in their game.

I’ll go back to my previous remark… we have amazing talent and spirit in New Zealand, but so much depends on having the right person at the helm.

Scott Robertson earned his position as head coach and I wish him every success.

Many New Zealand fans are frustrated by the impact of yellow/red cards on matches. Is it the same in Europe – any observations around that topic?

The last three finals I have watched have involved an early red card. I feel sorry for the players and the supporters who have paid their hard-earned cash to go to the game as, once again, the referee has decided the outcome on a technicality.

Refs have the advantage of slowing the replay right down to see if it is a foul. And on many occasions they need to. The player often has a microsecond to produce the right technique.

It’s great to see the safety concerns - we all agree on that. But I would like to see the referees given a bit more licence in their decision-making - zero tolerance is going overboard.

Watching rugby these days is a bit like watching sport on an episode of Boston Legal, with Denny Crane as the ref.

Moving on from William Shatner… we’ll trek back in time to that 2003 Super Rugby final. Does it still give you a lot of satisfaction? What are your favourite rugby memories?

I don’t look back a lot. Since retiring I’ve started the hair transplant clinic and developed quite a few building sites, plus having kids along the way. So it has been flat out.

That 2003 season was a great year for Auckland and the Blues, my most enjoyable year of rugby.

However, playing for Cardiff was also very satisfying - we ranked in the top six of Europe for six of the nine years I played here. We had a great Kiwi connection with players like Paul Tito, Ben Blair, Jason Spice and Casey Laulala. We won a few trophies but generally, punched above our weight.

I feel very blessed about my career. I loved every minute played with some great men, and retired when the time was right.

I think the most important feeling is that once I retired, there weren’t any rocks under my towel.

Any predictions for the Super Rugby final? Will you watch it?

Half of my family loves the Chiefs because they live there. My mum still loves the Blues… she will be praying for them. I think that is what will get them over the line. And yes, I’ll be watching.