Nucifora to get one more year for redemption

When coach David Nucifora is asked this week by the Blues board to explain where it all went wrong, he at least won't have to make himself heard over the noise of sharpening knives.

Despite presiding over a campaign that produced fewer highlights than a two-week holiday in Gore, Nucifora has won a legion of admirers within the franchise.

Inevitably, the lack of success has led to speculation about whether the coach will be retained. But it is unlikely that Nucifora will be offered as a sacrificial lamb, as the Australian should be able to make a case that he has found answers to many of the problems that have vexed the Blues for the last seven seasons.

Most Blues board members are also aware that after a disastrous season in 2004, Auckland gave rookie coaches Pat Lam and Shane Howarth a stay of execution. Their faith was rewarded when Auckland won the title the following year.

Blues chief executive Andy Dalton was reluctant to pre-empt the review, so restricted himself to saying that Nucifora has made a lot of progress but that the results were still disappointing.

It's a view Nucifora endorses and he suggests that when he sits in front of the board, he will emphasise that despite the poor results, for the first time in the professional age there is finally a sense of unity among the three franchise partners that is being underpinned by a long-term vision.

It will effectively be a plea for more time and Nucifora will hope the board agree with his statement that: "It's unrealistic to expect instant results."

It's a statement that could also be construed as Nucifora hinting that the problems he inherited when he took over from Peter Sloane in June last year were deeper and more complex than he realised.

With all due respect to Sloane, a coach with an enviable CV, there are not many people connected to the franchise jumping to his defence.

Last year, former Blues legend Carlos Spencer revealed his dismay at Sloane's level of involvement throughout the 2005 campaign, while no one in Northland can say they felt part of the picture while their former son had charge of the Blues from 2002 to 2005.

Northland were very much the poor relation - a strangely quiet uncle if you like - who fell foul of the rest of the family when James Arlidge, while on loan from Auckland, kicked a last-minute conversion in 2001 to see Northland defeat Auckland 44-43 at Eden Park.

North Harbour also had their gripes. Over the years, Harbour saw players such as Craig Newby and Nick Evans ignored and Rico Gear pushed to the periphery. As a consequence, all three left the province and when given a Super 12 opportunity elsewhere, showed they were good enough to be All Blacks.

To see such talent fail to get a chance at the Blues was frustrating. That frustration was greatly enhanced by the belief that former Blues and Auckland chief executive David White had a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in his provincial contract to get a specific number of Auckland players into the Blues squad.

The Blues have, for the past seven years, been a six-month organisation, working as a unit with one goal between November and May and then splitting into their component parts where each union fiercely protects its own interests.

What Nucifora appears to have done is bring Northland in from the cold by keeping them in the loop and helping them plot a path to on-field recovery.

His selection of 10 North Harbour players in this year's squad has helped convince players from over the bridge that they can make the Blues if good enough.

He's been helped by the fact that Dalton, also the Auckland chief executive, does not have a KPI incentive to produce a set quota of Auckland Super 14 players.

"I definitely would not have signed a contract that contained something like that," said Dalton.

Nucifora's big breakthrough, however, has been to get all three unions to see that success will only come if the Blues are viewed as a 12-month organisation.

"One thing that has hit home is the enormity of the challenges you face here as a consequence of the size of the area and the fact you have three unions," said Nucifora.

"It's actually easier for smaller organisations to get it right.

"I think in the past there has been a focus on going from one campaign to the next but you need a vision for the future, a long-term plan that has ongoing development for the 12 months. That takes cooperation and requires all three unions to pull together. I think people are slowly starting to understand the issues."

But can the fact that there has historically been a chronic lack of cooperation between the three unions explain why a pack full of All Blacks has bumbled its way through the last three months or why the backs have played with little idea about how to break a defensive line?

Nucifora can see an association between the boardroom disunity and on-field underperformance.

Too many Blues players reported for pre-season last November short of the requisite conditioning. The extra time required to catch up physically ate into the time available for individual and team skill building.

This year, players will have their fitness levels more closely monitored by Blues staff during the Air New Zealand Cup. Nucifora wants to hammer home the point that the standards set by the Blues need to be upheld all year. And he also needs to get across that those standards have to be raised because relying on natural talent is no longer enough.

"Being a professional is more than just putting your boots on for 80 minutes to play a game," said Nucifora. "Talent alone does not guarantee success. Talent needs to be nurtured and developed. There needs to be structure and players must grasp what it entails to be professional in training and in preparation. We can't just say to the boys 'go out there and play' - that won't work at this level. We need to play a type of rugby that has a framework but not one that stifles natural creativity and ability because that is the strength of this team."

The results are the ultimate proof that this season Nucifora hasn't managed to get the framework right.

The popular theory is that he has overdone the structure. Auckland set the NPC on fire last year when Lam implemented the regimented, disciplined approach of Nucifora that had each week mapped out for them in minute detail.

Next year, though, needs to be one of delivery. The board will be able to accept that it has taken Nucifora a year to get his house in order. They won't tolerate a second year of failure.

So in 2007, Luke McAlister has to pick up the mantle of Spencer. Nick Williams has to provide the dynamism from No 8 that many said was missing under Xavier Rush and Keven Mealamu has to leave an indelible mark on the souls of his team-mates.

Assistant coach Joe Schmidt, if he survives the review, has to stop his backline from playing across the gain-line without threatening it. Schmidt recently rejected an offer to coach his former province, Bay of Plenty, who were keen to use his expertise in defensive organisation.

Yet at the Blues, Schmidt has responsibility for the offence, which before the Chiefs game averaged only 2.5 tries per game. Maybe the Blues need a more attack-orientated assistant, such as Allan Pollock or Howarth.

And as for Nucifora, he needs to select 28 players in whom he has total confidence. He insists his selections were on the money and refutes the notion fringe players such as Harbour's Mike Noble and Northland's Tim Dow were political selections to appease franchise partners.

Actions, however, speak louder than words. Mealamu and John Afoa have started every game, much to the chagrin of All Black coach Graham Henry, who didn't need to spell out who he had in mind last week when he said some individuals were being played too much.

Nucifora is not the sort to be deliberately belligerent, so it must be assumed Mealamu and Afoa have not been rested because the Blues coach has little faith in back-up hooker Dow and tighthead Noble.

"I understand that every year people say the selections are not right," said Nucifora. "Obviously you learn more about people when you work with them. I'm pretty happy with the squad, though.

"I'm reasonably happy with a lot of what we've achieved," said Nucifora, "but I am frustrated that hasn't been reflected on the scoreboard."

Nucifora CV

2001: David Nucifora appointed head coach of the Brumbies.

2002: Leads Brumbies to the Super 12 final where they lose to Crusaders.

2003: Brumbies make the semifinals where they lose to Blues.

2004: Brumbies win Super 12 title but a player revolt leads to Nucifora being ousted - a decision that was made midway through the campaign.

2004: Appointed technical director at the Blues.

2005: Appointed head coach of the Blues.