Rugby: Lam makes biggest promise

Paul Williams of the Blues is tackled by Craig Clarke of the Chiefs. Photo / Getty Images

Coach Pat Lam predicts the Blues will crack the jackpot when the Super 15 begins next year.

The Blues have not tasted rugby success since they claimed the title in 2003, but Lam was confident two seasons in charge had given him the recipe for success.

"It is a bold statement but I am confident we will do it next year," he said.

"Mainly because I know what the squad is going to be like with this franchise contracting and I am confident we will pretty much have a core group of guys.

"What we have done from the first year to the second year I would be very surprised if we didn't do it next year. I'm that confident I'll put it out there now and you can remind me next year if it doesn't happen."

Lam's spiel suggested a front-foot approach, a clever piece of electioneering and a public note to his employers and supporters that he was on a three-year deal and intended to seal that mandate next season.

It seemed an unusually frothy evaluation of a side which ended seventh on the table. A patchy 30-20 win against an under-resourced Chiefs on Saturday at Eden Park, lifted them to seven wins and six losses on the results chart.

Lam's rationale was that a strong core of the side would remain including Alby Mathewson and Stephen Brett while Daniel Braid would be a welcome addition next season.

The coach was certain his management and coaching crew had laid a strong foundation behind the scenes. The Blues had not suffered any blowout defeats in this campaign, nothing to compare with last season.

Since the Blues claimed their last crown in 2003, they have qualified for the playoffs once in a results run which has gone 5th, 7th, 8th, 4th, 6th, 9th and 7th.

Defeat for the injury-ravaged Chiefs meant they finished 11th after being a beaten finalist last year, but coach Ian Foster thought he would be reconfirmed for a last season once all the information had been considered by the appointments committee.

Chiefs halfback Brendon Leonard saved about four tries with his great cover defence on Saturday night, in a game where mistakes seemed to outweigh production.

The Blues forwards seemed to have a dose of white-line fever in contrast to the patterns the side offered through the bulk of the competition.

When the side ran the ball they were able to create all sorts of danger from men such as left wing Rudi Wulf who scored two sharp tries.

The error rate was too high in a match where All Black aspirants had one final performance for the national selectors and a capacity 17,500 crowd enjoyed a fine evening at Eden Park.

"I think it was a tougher competition this year," Blues captain Keven Mealamu said.