Rugby: Rowlands confident of staying with Auckland

By Chris Rattue

Blues coach Jed Rowlands is adamant that he will continue his coaching career in Auckland with the NPC side this year.

The twice-champion Blues are poised to miss the Super 12 semifinals for the first time and the pressure intensified on Rowlands this week with the New Zealand Herald story stating there had been a player revolt allied to discipline problems. It said the Blues players met in South Africa this week to discuss their options regarding Rowlands - the third such get-together by some of the players this season.

Rowlands is contracted to take over the Auckland NPC side although there is a clause saying his appointment is subject to a review of his first year in charge of the Blues. His Blues contract also ends this year. Rowlands confirmed the existence of that clause last night from Cape Town where the Blues are preparing for Sunday morning's do-or-die battle with the Bulls.

But the former Taranaki NPC coach said there were no specifics in the clause, such as the Blues having to make the semifinals.

Rowlands said: "In any contract there are performance clauses and to be fair to Auckland, they had every right to do that when they drew up the contract in case the coach was absolutely hopeless.

"... I've got no doubts about coaching the NPC team. I'm looking forward to it and starting afresh with a new side. I wouldn't think there are any concerns at all."

Rowlands said he talked over the revolt story with the Blues players, and described it as "right over the top."

"From time to time, say every four to six weeks, players do have meetings. They talk about any problems, even the food and laundry," he said.

"You treat some of the things with a grain of salt, on others you take action. There were no meetings behind my back.

"Someone has gone right over the top with this. It was hard to deal with in a way because it hit the paper before you have any warning.

"But it was so far-fetched I didn't worry about it."

Since the Herald story tracing the anxiety within the Auckland camp back to Rowlands' appointment by the New Zealand Rugby Union interview committee, there has been much public debate about the Blues' current troubles.

Commentators have blamed everything from the union's appointment system to Rowland's hands-off methods for the lack of discipline within the squad and lack of success on the pitch, while the Blues players and officials closed ranks in a damage control exercise.

Meanwhile, Rowlands said it was still too early to predict whether Carlos Spencer's top level future may be at second-five-eighth.

Rowlands has moved Spencer away from his regular first-five spot, bringing in Northland's Tony Monaghan, as one of eight selection changes and two other positional alterations in a last-ditch bid to make the team fire. Rowlands said he was sure the national selectors would be keen to see Spencer operating there in the Super 12, and had talked briefly about the prospect with them some weeks ago.

"He has played there for the All Blacks and also in his younger days, and I'm sure the selectors would like to see how he goes there again," said Rowlands.

"It is not a move I would have even envisaged at the start of the year, and it has partly been brought on by the fact that Craig Innes is unavailable for this match.

"But looking at the competition this year, the first-fives like Tony Brown who take the ball to the line have had the most success, and that is not what Carlos wants to do. In a way the roles of the first-five and second five, who used to be the hard crash-type of runner, have become reversed.

"I don't see any first fives who can step and have the skills of Carlos who are succeeding there, and he may need the extra room.

"And we are going to have to attack from the outset against the Bulls because we need to get five points [including a four-try bonus point] from this game."