Where has it gone wrong...

The Hamster looks at some key areas he feels may have contributed to out lack of success in 2009.

Coaching Appointments.

The two coaches were appointed in let's face it, a less than ideal manner which Harbour has been known for. The whole of the NZ public knew who was going to be picked prior to the charade which was hiring the new employees.

What it has shown is that such an unfortunate recruitment policy has back-fired and we now have two people who have struggled to cope with the demands of Air NZ Cup rugby.

This should come as no surprise and while they may improve, may move on, or may succeed at a later date- we do not send the right signals to other coaches and we have limited our choices in the future.

Senior Players.

We needed to invest in at least 2-3 senior, journeyman-type players this season. Those teams that are going well have a small balance in that area. We do not.

If youth is going to shine through, we required a couple of seasoned vets to show us the way, correct mistakes and ensure sound decisions are made on the park.

Tuitavake, McPhee, Smylie etc do not offer this. Our All Blacks are rarely seen, so this job needs to fall on some current athletes with considerable experience. David Holwell and Shayne Austin are good examples of this in Northland and Taranaki respectively.

Backs.

This used to be our strength, now it is our Achilles heel. We are conceding more than 23 points a game and have been unable to score more than 4 tries in a single fixture. This is woeful.

When we run the ball, chance our arm, if you will, we look good. When we adopt the new kicking game, we flounder in a fit of insecurity.

The defence must be better organised, and we must make selections and tactics based on tried and tested rugby principles. Selecting Abercrombie at 2nd five is an example of silliness. Rushing out of the line at Hamilton and tackling fresh air is fraught with danger. It must be better.

Substitutions.

We don't need to substitute hookers seemingly at will. Choose one and stick to it. Do not change it on attack, this disrupts the fragile advantage we might have. We rush half the team on constantly because we are losing or the game has already gone. Select a consistent team (within the reason of injuries) and stick to it, let it build, let it grow. Change for change sake is madness, how many captains have we had, Smith (while struggling for form) can't be made captain and benched. It is not sensible.

Union and Players.

We are in my opinion fighting an uphill battle to succeed on a stage without the proper resources and community desire. The players I don't believe have bought into this plan (if there is one), the public have never bought into it and we are hanging perilously between Air NZ Cup and Heartland obscurity.

The players we are told are shooting for Super 14 spots and beyond. How many actually hand on heart, will make the All Blacks? Apart from Borich and Woodcock (who may not be here soon) very few will make the Blues or higher honours. If they were going for a half-decent contract they would be performing a bit better than they currently are.

Substantial organisation changes would need to be made to make this Union vibrant and viable. The club rugby system is adequate and kids rugby is very sound and sustainable. We have a Union which for all purposes is about running professional rugby and that only, lets not disguise this. Having players in club rugby and waxing on about the numbers of children playing the game makes nice reading in the NSTA but it does not change the fact that we have struggled to perform at provincial level. For the last three years we have been average (2007-2009) and we have to look at where we are heading.

It is admirable that we are trying to keep within our financial resources, but without a successful team we have no brand. The choice has to be made on whether we invest, change and succeed or gamble to survive.

On the eve of 25 years, we have nothing for people, companies and community to aspire to be a part of, the Blues relationship is dysfunctional and we need to look at where we are going before it is too late.

We have done well to a point but now have dropped the ball.