Rugby: Silence of the Lam over new 'signing'

Stephen Brett. Photo / Getty Images

Trying to pin Blues coach Pat Lam down yesterday on where things stand with proposed Super 14 signing Stephen Brett was like trying to grab fog.

The former Samoan loose forward was more like a nifty-footed, er, No 10 whenever the B word came up.

Canterbury first five-eighths Brett is expected to join the Blues and be part of the squad due to be named with the other four New Zealand franchises on November 11, forming an axis with Wellington halfback Alby Matthewson. But no one is saying.

The player transfer deadline is tomorrow. The Canterbury Rugby Union, to whom Brett remains contracted next year, have a policy of not discussing player movements ahead of the relevant due date.

Lam took his cue from that, turning 2007 Junior All Black Brett into a stickier topic than toffee apple.

Asked "where are you at?" with Brett, Lam replied: "The real key thing is we've been working pretty hard like all other coaches to ensure we get the strongest team."

And later, asked if he was confident of securing Brett, he said: "I'm confident we'll have a good team."

Brett, 24 next month, is a talented footballer, who can play No 10 or No 12, albeit prone to flaky moments.

But he has three Super 14 campaigns behind him, which assumed significance as Lam elaborated on the importance of Nos 9 and 10.

Asked what Brett, who made his Crusaders' debut in 2006, would add to the Blues, Lam said: "Whether it's him or anyone else it's more about the navigation of the team. [In] any successful team, the No 9 and 10 drive the team round and that's what we're looking for - in whoever we get."

Lam said the key was experience.

"You need guys who've played there for a while. There is a lot of talent but at the end of the day at Super 14 level it all comes back to experience, being in that cauldron and being used to driving it."

Lam confirmed North Harbour's All Black forwards Tony Woodcock and Anthony Boric will be Blues players, and pointed to Auckland players Keven Mealamu, Jerome Kaino, Joe Rokocoko, Isaia Toeava, Kurtis Haiu and younger men like Chris Lowrey, Peter Saili and Northland wing Rene Ranger as indicative of things moving in the right direction.

Auckland coach Mark Anscombe conceded the Blues trying to nail an out-of-town player in a key position is not necessarily great news for the provinces within the Blues boundaries - North Harbour, Northland and themselves.

"It doesn't bring a lot to us, but you've got to look at the bigger picture. The Blues have obviously identified an area of concern and that's their prerogative," Anscombe said yesterday.

He did not view the signing of players like Wellington halfback Alby Matthewson and Brett as a blocked pathway for players from within the franchise ring. "It's a choice coaches have and you've got to be able to perform and show them. Our guys know the selectors, know what they want from them, and have just got to go out and do it."

Lam also laughed off speculation the Blues had sought, and been rejected by, England's 2003 World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson, and Argentine star Juan Martin Hernandez.

"If he [Hernandez] was standing here amongst you I wouldn't even know who he was," Lam said.