Blues coach John Kirwan is under fire. Photo / Gerhard Steenkamp
Blues coach John Kirwan is under fire. Photo / Gerhard Steenkamp
The Blues find themselves in a horrible position early in the Super Rugby season. Gregor Paul looks at where it has all gone wrong for the embattled franchise
The John Kirwan coaching era began in a blaze of glory against the Hurricanes in Wellington two years ago.
A Frank Halai double saw the Blues cruise to a memorably good 34-20 win and, when they returned to Auckland the following week and scored five tries to beat the Crusaders 34-15 at Eden Park, there was a genuine sense of a Blues' renaissance.
But just as an away match against the Hurricanes signalled the beginning, another probably also confirmed the Kirwan era is all but over.
The Blues were considerably better in Palmerston North on Friday night than they have been. They were more inventive and direct - but only in patches and, having tumbled to their fifth-straight defeat of 2015, there's no obvious way out of the hole in which they find themselves.
After a bye, they play the Waratahs in Sydney and Chiefs in Hamilton and, while Kirwan continues to insist his side are not far off - which is true - it's hard to believe they will find the missing pieces against opposition of that calibre.
Who would bet against five-straight defeats becoming seven? Would anyone believe that, if they do, the right thing will be to persevere with Kirwan in 2016?
It won't be an easy decision to make. Kirwan has poured his soul into the team. He has given everything he's got, cares deeply about the club and the city and has had to battle internecine provincial politics behind the scenes.
To an extent, he's been held hostage by an age-grade development system that was riddled with holes and obsessed with style over substance. To an extent, he's been the victim of legacy failings which saw a generation of players come through the Blues with little understanding of what high performance is all about.
He also feels the frustration as much as everyone else when players drop passes and miss touch as they did too frequently on Friday.
Blame cannot squarely be placed on his shoulders, but it does have to sit somewhere and the dynamics of a professional team are such that it's not feasible to clean out 37 players.
It is, however, feasible to change the coach and, while that won't be a panacea, it will at least be a start. What else can the board do? Persevere against a backdrop of 13 victories in 37 games?
When good players start to make basic errors as a matter of course, it's usually a sign their confidence is shot and not likely to be fixed without a change in the set-up.
The optimism of that night in Wellington hasn't vanished exclusively because of accentuating circumstances. But Kirwan has made plenty of mistakes that have contributed to the win ratio of his era being the worst in Blues' history.
• Malakai Fekitoa
Fekitoa was the surprise inclusion in the Blues' 2013 squad. Photo / Greg Bowker
Kirwan was excited by the potential of Fekitoa in 2012. He saw an athlete with fast feet and raw power and Fekitoa was the surprise inclusion in the Blues' 2013 squad. But for whatever reason, Kirwan lost confidence in Fekitoa. It was based on what was happening at training because Fekitoa didn't get near playing.
There was fault on both sides as Fekitoa, feeling that he wasn't getting anywhere, let his standards drop off the field. It became a vicious cycle that finished when the Highlanders signed Fekitoa and six months later he was an All Black.
With hindsight, Fekitoa, desperate to play for the Blues, perhaps just needed to be better managed and supported.
Marshall wasn't fit enough when he arrived in Auckland. Photo / Richard Robinson
Chasing Benji Marshall wasn't as daft as it subsequently came to appear. The problem was not signing him - the problem was having a clear plan on how to help make the transition from failing NRL star to Super Rugby regular.
Marshall wasn't fit enough when he arrived in Auckland and it was never clear if he had been brought over to be a starting No 10 or an exotic option to inject somewhere into the mix off the bench.
Who would know? But perhaps the wooing of Marshall had a major bearing on Beauden Barrett's decision to stay with the Hurricanes.
A midfield of Barrett, Saili and Fekitoa, with Charles Piutau at fullback and Halai and Lolagi Visinia on the wings - it's hard to see the Blues being 0-5 with that crew.
• Steven Luatua and Charlie Faumuina
Luatua didn't play anywhere near his potential. Photo / Brett Phibbs
The former was huge for the Blues in 2013 and is again playing well in 2015. Faumuina is also playing superbly this year and making his impact felt. But last year, neither were fit enough.
Luatua didn't play anywhere near his potential because he lacked basic conditioning and hadn't done the hard yards. That saw him dropped by the All Blacks for the June tests.
Faumuina was also dropped and publicly lambasted by All Blacks coach Steve Hansen for not being in good enough shape.
• Consistency of selection
When the Chiefs won their two titles, they were willing to make selection changes from week to week - but they didn't tinker with the core. The likes of Aaron Cruden, Liam Messam, Brodie Retallick, Sonny Bill Williams and Tawera Kerr-Barlow were on the field for the bulk of the campaign.
The Blues haven't had a similar core and swapped key combinations throughout 2013 and 2014. They have never settled on their best No 9 and No 10 combination. Their midfield is a revolving door.
