Blues need some life-support

Rico Gear tries to get away from the determined grip of the Blues' Tony Woodcock. Simon Fergusson / Getty Images

Crusaders 39
Blues 10

A delicious sub-plot faces the embattled Blues and coach David Nucifora after their latest Super 14 mishap.

They have to ride out a fortnight's scrutiny before resuming the series against the Brumbies who sacked Nucifora in the midst of their title march two years ago.

The Blues have a bye this week and are visiting a supermarket today in Warkworth. It is part of a goodwill visit to the regions but they may need to buy a Lotto ticket there to survive this season or uncover some talent like the Brooke brothers who came from the area.

Already, the Blues' chances of making the semifinals are ebbing away after one win in their opening four matches.

They probably need to win seven of their remaining nine matches and accumulate some bonus points if the average 32 points needed to make the Super 12 semifinals is a guide.

The situation is not fatal but the Blues need some life-support fast after they were belted by the Crusaders.

Forget the chatter about courageous defence, coaches Nucifora and Deans chipping each other, the sinbin injustice for Joe Rokocoko and Ali Williams or anything else. Whichever way you look at it, the Blues were whipped, they came second, easily.

Their pack could not compete and their backs, apart from a sharp start, looked uncomfortable. Their predicament will ease if Luke McAlister and Isa Nacewa pass the medical roll-call for the Brumbies match but that will be only part of the remedy.

This latest Blues lurch will rekindle the regular round of theories about coaching imports, the problems getting three division-one sides to gel, the "browning" of rugby, lack of leadership or the late arrival of the All Blacks.

Unlike some previous troubled regimes, the players speak with uniform admiration about the team spirit engendered by Nucifora and his management.

But the Blues are playing like a side caught between several styles. There is a perception the Blues are best when they whistle the ball around the field, but this season Nucifora has asked them to play a more restricted style. The fulcrum of the side, numbers 8, 9 and 10, have battled with the plan.

Two years ago, the Brumbies' senior players rebelled against Nucifora because he wanted them to play a more structured game. It was part of a battle of wills where the coach took on the shop-stewards like Justin Harrison and Owen Finegan.

There is no suggestion of similar dissent from the Blues but they are struggling to absorb the coaches' directives. It looks like a case of the style not matching the players' psyche.

There are a number who have not made the transition from the NPC to Super 14 with enough authority, a gulf which was emphasised on Saturday by the Crusaders.

But then again the Crusaders have been blessed with Richie McCaw, Daniel Carter and the crafty coaching of Robbie Deans. It is a mean mixture, one the Blues will learn from but may not meet again this season unless they have a dramatic form reversal.