KEY POINTS:
Blues coach David Nucifora has hinted he will continue to shun the reconditioned All Blacks from his next starting lineup after his side became the new Super 14 leaders.
Four returned All Blacks - Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Ali Williams and Joe Rokocoko - are available for the Blues' next mission against the Chiefs but may get no further than the bench in Hamilton.
Nucifora is wary of disturbing the momentum and combinations the Blues have developed this season, concerns which were reinforced when he watched the mixed weekend results from the All Black integration in other franchises.
If Nucifora retains a similar side this weekend to that which outclassed the Waratahs 34-6, there will be rising exasperation from the national selectors. With Rokocoko recovering from a sprained ankle, Mealamu was the only one of the quartet to get any matchplay for the Blues.
Privately, All Black coach Graham Henry was unimpressed when Williams and Woodcock played club rugby for Ponsonby instead. But Nucifora defended his selections yesterday and indicated his slow-release strategy would continue.
"I don't see how they can be up to speed. There is no guarantee to be honest," he said about picking the reconditioned internationals.
"The others have had eight rounds of intense competition and it will take the [All Blacks] some time to catch up to that. It is difficult not just with the four players, it is tricky to keep them all involved. The guys who have got the opportunities have done well.
"We have got players who are going well, they are keen and enthusiastic and there is not a lot of difference in class between these guys, especially at the elite end." Nucifora did not want to disadvantage his All Black quartet as it had not been their decision to bypass the first half of the Super 14.
The eighth round amalgamation of All Blacks and franchises was ragged, much as Henry had predicted. He thought it would take the protected players several matches to switch on after three months of training.
The Crusaders and Hurricanes both started six All Blacks, the Chiefs two, the Highlanders and Blues one each from the bench. The Hurricanes' gamble failed to staunch a three game losing stretch while the Crusaders got the most from their new players.
They all looked rusty. Their timing with the ball, on defence or at the breakdown, was wayward, and their confusion about the new scrum instructions understandable. All appeared some way off the pace except first five-eighths Daniel Carter who immediately reintroduced his class.
Meanwhile Blues skipper Troy Flavell continued to push his case for All Black reinstatement with another workaholic performance. He is widely thought to be duelling with Reuben Thorne for World Cup selection as a utility forward to cover lock and loose forward.
So far Flavell has played lock alongside Greg Rawlinson, an All Black from last season. They have complemented each other well in a driving Blues pack but with Williams now available, Nucifora has been given alternative selection choices.
Switching Flavell to blindside flanker is not on the coach's radar.
"At the moment I consider Troy to be a lock, I have no immediate plans to shift him. I prefer him at lock where we get the benefit of him at the set piece and then still have his ball-carrying ability and work-rate around the park," said Nucifora.
