Solving Blues captaincy riddle likely to cause Nucifora headaches

Among the raft of selection dramas he has to solve, Blues coach David Nucifora also needs to crack the captaincy riddle.

All Black hooker Keven Mealamu did the job this season but despite his polite rebuttals, the feeling persisted he did not feel entirely comfortable.

Mealamu will avoid the job next year as he and fellow All Blacks Ali Williams, Tony Woodcock and Joe Rokocoko are all on national conditioning duties for half the series.

There were few clues this year about alternative skippers as Mealamu led the Blues in every game.

Nucifora is unlikely to unveil his next leader for some time although he and the Super 14 coaches yesterday submitted their squads of up to 24 players for the next series.

None of the exempt All Blacks are in those groups and all are immune from the draft process that is held in Wellington on Thursday.

Full squads total 28 players plus the All Blacks who will return to action midway through the Super 14. Those squads will be revealed on Friday.

Nucifora's choice for captain may be more limited than his first season in charge.

Long-term injuries removed contenders such as Justin Collins, Angus Macdonald, Troy Flavell and Steve Devine as the Blues battled to eighth, while Rua Tipoki's ban eliminated him as a caretaker late in the series.

Tipoki will be at the Crusaders next season and Collins may also be grafting somewhere else unless he returns to the Blues through the draft. Devine is no selection certainty.

Macdonald, who had a full knee reconstruction, and Flavell, after shoulder surgery, have been on rehabilitation programmes but have provincial captaincy experience.

Another All Black, Sam Tuitupou, was a popular captain for Auckland this season but he cannot be guaranteed regular playing time.

He will probably be competing with Luke McAlister in midfield unless a deal is done to return him to the Chiefs or McAlister plays at first-five eighths.

Macdonald will be in a dogfight among a group of top loose forwards and that could leave Flavell as the favourite for captain.

However, Flavell may want to focus on core duties, which are likely to be as a Blues lock, without the burden of captaincy in a year when he will be shooting for World Cup recognition.

Then again, success for the Blues as a lock and a captain would boost Flavell's references.