Rugby: Bad boys pivotal to franchises' success

Sione Lauaki. Photo / Getty Images

There is a symmetry at work which has aligned the Blues and Chiefs in that their seasons now hinge on their ability to deal with their respective bad boys.

The challenge looks harder for the Chiefs who have a bigger problem with Sione Lauaki than the Blues do with Rene Ranger. For the past few years, Lauaki has defined the Chiefs' campaigns.

He's notoriously slow to find match fitness which has been a big factor in why the Chiefs have been slow to find their flow and rhythm.

But Chiefs coach Ian Foster has never lost faith in Lauaki. He knows that when the former All Black slots into the groove, he's a devastating ball carrier.

Lauaki is the man who smashes the Chiefs over the gain line; builds the momentum and creates the space for a backline that is virtually unstoppable if given half a metre to play.

What Foster also knows, better than anyone, is that Lauaki has to clock the minutes or his fitness slips and his impact diminishes.

That's why he played on Friday night - he'd missed the previous three weeks and if he sat out another game, the campaign would be almost over by the time Lauaki found even third gear.

The point was amplified when Lauaki dropped the first ball he received and he had a comparatively quiet match as the Chiefs went down to the Brumbies 30-23 in Canberra.

The Chiefs took the lead 23-17 with a runaway Richard Kahui try but the Brumbies then turned the screw up front and pinned the Chiefs in their own half for much of the second half.

Neither Lauaki nor any of the Chiefs' forwards could break that grip and the game was won when young first-five Matt Toomua scored after turnover ball from a Chiefs' scrum.

There was some discussion that Chiefs' halfback Junior Poleuleuiga was obstructed in that movement but the Chiefs could hardly complain at the loss after being so overshadowed in the second half.

So a firing Lauaki is a must for the Chiefs - but it was a decision that came with risks.

First, it was a bad look. He's admitted guilt on an assault charge but the internal investigation is only now beginning. Normal procedure in most employment fields is for those being investigated to stay suspended until resolution.

As much as the Chiefs want to be fair to Lauaki and as eager as they are to halt a three-game losing streak, there is a bigger picture.

This is his third offence and there is a growing body of opinion that believes rugby needs to take a tougher stance with off-field offenders.

Second, it was a harsh outcome for Colin Bourke. The Bay of Plenty No 8 has played well and is entitled to feel a little miffed that his reward for some solid work was to be dumped for a recidivist offender.

It wouldn't be a surprise to learn others in the Chiefs squad were not delighted by Lauaki's selection.

While Mils Muliaina, Liam Messam, Richard Kahui and Brendon Leonard were in court to show solidarity, they must, surely, be questioning if their team-mate deserves their continued support.

It will test Foster's management skills to ensure Lauaki's presence does not become divisive and ultimately disruptive.

The story is entirely different at the Blues where Ranger's impending court case is having a galvanising effect on the team and the individual.

The 23-year-old has given the Blues an X-factor they haven't had since Rupeni Caucaunibuca left in 2004.

But the Blues have also given Ranger something in return - a sense of belonging that was not always present in what was, according to those who know him well, a difficult upbringing.

"He loves being in this environment," says Blues assistant coach Shane Howarth. "It's really important to have the boys around him and helping him."

There's a sense of the Blues feeling a little proprietorial about Ranger; a young man they obviously feel they can mould into not only a world-class player but a more rounded person.

Much of that confidence in Ranger stems from the way he has fronted since name suppression was lifted during the week and the discipline he has shown on the park.

His power with the ball in hand is what has thrust him into the national limelight but, for Howarth, there are bigger reasons to be excited.

"He is a really good distributor of the ball.

"He's not just a bludgeon and he's shown he's learning the systems in both attack and defence and staying in them."

Ranger is on the rise doing his best to fight demons that are not all of his own making.

That's why his team-mates are protective and supportive and determined to help him. Ranger in return says the only way he can thank his peers is by delivering on the field.

He was even taken aback at the praise which came his way after the defeat of the Brumbies.

"I dropped the ball twice in the opening minutes," he said, "and I was pretty mad with myself. It was Ice [Isaia Toeava] who told me to shut it all out and then I started to get excited after that."

The Blues management have given him similar advice on how to deal with his off-field difficulties. For now, he is shutting it all out, but is it working?

"I don't think I would be selected if it wasn't."