Rugby: Stephen Perofeta far from the perfect star product

Blues first five Stephen Perofeta. Photo / Photosport.nz

The Blues don't have the finished product they crave at first-five but it is becoming increasingly clear they have, in Stephen Perofeta, a young player with ability.

Or at least they have in Perofeta a first-five with a devastating running game who is going to become an effective weapon once he learns the other parts of his craft.

It's apparent watching the Blues one of their biggest weaknesses is game management. They don't appear to have a clear idea of what they are trying to do. Not in the right sort of detail. It seems they know when to kick but not always what sort of kick.

They also don't seem to have that fluid connection between forwards and backs and therefore that ability to swiftly transition from bludgeon to rapier.

Perofeta is partly responsible for some of the faults in the Blues game. He's not tactically adept quite yet. He's not controlling the direction and place of attack the way they more senior first-fives in the competition are.

But he's only 21 and he's barely played at this level.

He's also part of a team desperately short of confidence and that never makes life easy for a playmaker. With time, Perofeta's game should mature and when it does, watch out: he's going to be a good player.

What he has shown in his few outings so far is brilliant running. He has balance and agility and this uncanny ability to sway past defenders without seemingly doing much at all.

He's not a stepper as such, just waggles his upper body when he's in top flight and it sends defenders the wrong way. He scored a miracle try against the Sharks a few weeks back by holding his line and the defenders dived the wrong way.

He had a few breaks in Tokyo yesterday as well where he did much the same and that ability to beat defenders and get over the gainline is clearly his critical skill.

He's also quick and quick into his running and that's partly why he may appear a bit at fullback as well as first-five as this campaign develops.