KEY POINTS:
The reports of the demise of Auckland rugby - in fact rugby north of the Bombays - have made interesting reading.
Sure, teams from the most populous region have failed badly this year. But looking at the record of the Blues since 2004 the region has only once been as high as fourth and as low as eighth - a similar record to the much maligned Chiefs.
Northland and Counties have never finished higher than ninth in the NPC, with Counties stuck between 14th-12th. Auckland should never finish outside the top-four provincial teams let alone the top eight, no matter how many players they loose between seasons.
Statistics can prove anything and sometimes it's better to look at trends. It seems the region's rugby was strongest before rugby went professional. Auckland had greater resources than others, there was no flight overseas and rural based players were attracted to the city by promises, jobs and hope.
This continued for a while after 1995, with the likes of Sean Fitzpatrick, Robin Brooke, Carlos Spencer, Craig Dowd and co still around to keep the standards high. The region very rarely looked outside its boundaries to recruit - why bother there was plenty of talent within?
Compared with the likes of Canterbury and the Crusaders, early success came easily. When the Cantabs were scouring the country for young talent little seemed to be done up north. Look at the Crusaders and Canterbury teams in the past eight years and most of the talent has been brought in and there's nothing wrong with that.
The loss of about 16 players from Auckland's 2007 winning squad has obviously had an effect. The succession plan is not so easy to explain. It seems there has been a huge amount of confidence placed in the current player group to step-up but they haven't.
Of concern is that despite losing the likes of Doug Howlett, Isa Nacewa, Nick Evans, Angus Macdonald, Steve Devine and David Gibson, the player wage bill has actually increased from last year. Does this translate to the current average mob being paid more than the departing stars? If so, it's time to look a bit deeper.
There has been some comment about the lack of players from the region being selected for age group teams. I have always wondered about these selections, as politics and favours have sometimes clouded matters.
Maybe at the core of these problems is the coaching structure - or apparent lack of it. The Blues coaching disasters are well documented. There have been the odd shining lights but there have been too many duds since the John Hart/Graham Henry eras.
Too often a super coach has been chosen from outside the region. Traditional coaches came from age group teams, learning their trade and moving up the ranks. Modern rugby has changed this with recent former players making the quick transition to top-level coaching. Some make it, some don't, just as with the old system. The difference is the losers are very public and so they should be. I don't think much has changed in that some have the X-factor of a Fred Allen, Hart and Henry and some don't.
Coaching leads to player development. The individual skills of catching and passing of these teams have not been good enough. There are far too many bad passes, dropped balls and lack of skill - even at warm-up and training. Good teams don't tolerate such sloppiness, great teams ban it. It may be a little thing but standards seem to have slipped throughout the structure and it's now showing at the shop window.
The fix rests with the managements and boards. The jolt of 2008 should be used as a good kick in the pants to those in power. Change is necessary.
The Auckland region's strength will return but it's time for a 10-year plan, rather than relying on individual talent and skill which don't seem as prevalent as in the recent past.
The rugby dynasty established in 1982 by the likes of Ron Don, Malcolm Dick, Hart, Lew Pryme, Rob Fisher and Andy Haden has long passed. It was established by clever administration not brilliant players - they came later. Times have changed but vision and courage is again required by the guys in the suits if the guys in the footy boots are to consistently succeed.
