The Jones Boy
First XV
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After years, literally season after season of hopelessly under achieving we finally had a season where the Blues came close to pulling off some big performances and instead of coming away empty handed from bad performances, they were picking up bonus points from those encounters.
39 points is an average haul but not what you would expect from a powerhouse province of NZ rugby with a rich tradition and history of silverware, but not in recent years.
The Blues have been in the wilderness for the best part of a decade.
Then along comes Tana Umaga and a new approach on a clean slate.
So many new names have appeared and new talent is coming through. If he can keep the job and build on performances from this season, where for the first time the Blues actively looked like they had a plan and the talent to make things happen, then maybe they can build the platform required to launch themselves into play off contention next season.
Yeah sure there were frustrating moments this season, not least was when after winning their opening match against the Highlanders the Blues went away to the Crusaders where Tana almost completely changed the winning team from the week before.
This was baffling to to Blues fans.
Tana was punished for it and I was wondering if the wheels had come off again so early in the season just as they had with Kirwan's management.
Then came a 4 point loss at home to the eventual champions, and an away draw at the reds where the Blues should have capitalised.
A comfortable home win over the Jaguars was followed by a bonus point loss away at the Chiefs. Then a home win against the Sharks gave the Blues fans hope as they headed into their second bye.
The game against the Rebels was crazy but the Blues sneaked it by 6 points and there was real hope of a run to the play off line even with some hard games coming up.
A strong win on the road against the out of form Kings gave them a real chance as they looked up at the teams ahead of them but the game against the Lions was a poor performance and they were schooled in the wet at Ellis park. It was a body blow on two counts as it halted the genuine progress up the table and it also rocked the Blues back on their heels because they played poorly.
Maybe it was the travelling, it is never easy in the Republic and the 2nd week is tough but this was a turning point in their season between making a run toward the play offs and staying out of contention.
Still on the road they bounced back with a somewhat lucky win against the Force in Perth on the way home. All was not lost but they had lost their way a little after the Kings victory.
Back home they lost to the Crusaders by 5 points in a tight affair and ewith that any real chance of becoming end of season contenders.
A 10 point loss away at the Canes and then a strong win over the Brumbies at home followed but it was too late to be more than a confidence booster for the young Blues outfit.
Getting over the line against a strong Waratahs outfit by 6 points at home after suffering 2 penalty tries saw the Blues finish mid table.
Statistically they were still mired at the bottom of the Kiwi conference and were established overall as mid table mediocrity.
However, there were flashes of brilliance amid some of the baffling management decisions (the first Crusaders game being an eye opener) and Tana pressed on with trying to find fresh talent with which to bolster his ranks for the next season and some young players put their hand up with excellent performances.
I don't think anyone expected 'great' things from the Blues in Tana's first season with a clean slate and so many fresh faces, but now, after a season of mixed results and performances there has been a feeling that they may have turned a corner in squad development and they should be eyeing to finish with at least 50 points next season to build on the platform laid down in Tana's first season in charge.
39 points is an average haul but not what you would expect from a powerhouse province of NZ rugby with a rich tradition and history of silverware, but not in recent years.
The Blues have been in the wilderness for the best part of a decade.
Then along comes Tana Umaga and a new approach on a clean slate.
So many new names have appeared and new talent is coming through. If he can keep the job and build on performances from this season, where for the first time the Blues actively looked like they had a plan and the talent to make things happen, then maybe they can build the platform required to launch themselves into play off contention next season.
Yeah sure there were frustrating moments this season, not least was when after winning their opening match against the Highlanders the Blues went away to the Crusaders where Tana almost completely changed the winning team from the week before.
This was baffling to to Blues fans.
Tana was punished for it and I was wondering if the wheels had come off again so early in the season just as they had with Kirwan's management.
Then came a 4 point loss at home to the eventual champions, and an away draw at the reds where the Blues should have capitalised.
A comfortable home win over the Jaguars was followed by a bonus point loss away at the Chiefs. Then a home win against the Sharks gave the Blues fans hope as they headed into their second bye.
The game against the Rebels was crazy but the Blues sneaked it by 6 points and there was real hope of a run to the play off line even with some hard games coming up.
A strong win on the road against the out of form Kings gave them a real chance as they looked up at the teams ahead of them but the game against the Lions was a poor performance and they were schooled in the wet at Ellis park. It was a body blow on two counts as it halted the genuine progress up the table and it also rocked the Blues back on their heels because they played poorly.
Maybe it was the travelling, it is never easy in the Republic and the 2nd week is tough but this was a turning point in their season between making a run toward the play offs and staying out of contention.
Still on the road they bounced back with a somewhat lucky win against the Force in Perth on the way home. All was not lost but they had lost their way a little after the Kings victory.
Back home they lost to the Crusaders by 5 points in a tight affair and ewith that any real chance of becoming end of season contenders.
A 10 point loss away at the Canes and then a strong win over the Brumbies at home followed but it was too late to be more than a confidence booster for the young Blues outfit.
Getting over the line against a strong Waratahs outfit by 6 points at home after suffering 2 penalty tries saw the Blues finish mid table.
Statistically they were still mired at the bottom of the Kiwi conference and were established overall as mid table mediocrity.
However, there were flashes of brilliance amid some of the baffling management decisions (the first Crusaders game being an eye opener) and Tana pressed on with trying to find fresh talent with which to bolster his ranks for the next season and some young players put their hand up with excellent performances.
I don't think anyone expected 'great' things from the Blues in Tana's first season with a clean slate and so many fresh faces, but now, after a season of mixed results and performances there has been a feeling that they may have turned a corner in squad development and they should be eyeing to finish with at least 50 points next season to build on the platform laid down in Tana's first season in charge.