Sloane bemoans lineout woe

One problem solved, plenty more created was the verdict of Blues coach Peter Sloane following his side's lacklustre warm-up game against the Waratahs which they lost 27-22.

On the plus side was the scrummaging where Saimone Taumoepeau solidified his reputation by giving Wallaby tighthead Al Baxter the kind of roasting that's normally reserved for chestnuts.

But while one set-piece held up, the other disintegrated and the Blues will spend the rest of this week correcting their lineout which, despite Ali Williams and Bradley Mika, only secured the ball once in the first 40 minutes in Whangarei.

Neither Keven Mealamu nor Derren Witcombe would have been happy with their darts but the timing of the jumpers was equally to blame for such a woeful showing.

The magic dust spruced by Carlos Spencer and the star-studded backline has seemingly had the effect of distorting the truth about the Blues 2003 championship season. The title was secured on the back of a cohesive forward pack who dominated the breakdown and ruled the touchline through Williams, who ended the campaign widely considered the best lineout forward in the world.

Sloane hardly needs reminding of the importance of lineout ball in this competition.

"We knew we were up against an international lineout and they played that way but we certainly didn't help ourselves," he said.

"The lineouts put us under pressure and they marked up heavily on Bradley. I am pleased we settled in the second half with our lineout. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and I think we lost confidence and the talk wasn't happening out there."

The other pressing concern for Sloane is the foot injury to Spencer although the medics are confident that the 29-year-old will be declared fit to play the Highlanders on Friday night.

Tasesa Lavea played the first 60 minutes at first five-eighths, leaving us none the wiser as to his ability to cope at this level. He passes brilliantly and picks the right runners but takes an age to clear the ball and poses no threat with ball in hand.

Luke McAlister was given the last 20 minutes and he also struggled to spark things and was guilty of throwing long, inaccurate skip passes.

Sloane said: "We have played without Carlos and I thought Tasesa did very well. It's good for him to get some experience out there. But there is only one Carlos and he creates and at times we didn't create enough."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY