Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

John Hart's plan to end the Blues' 'endemic failure'

Patrick Tuipulotu makes a break for the Blues. Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Former All Blacks coach John Hart, recently appointed to the Blues board after a restructure, has revealed how he plans to turn the Super Rugby club around.

“We had a two-hour workshop where the chairmen, CEOs, high performance managers and coaches of Auckland, North Harbour, Northland and the Blues sat down with our board,” Hart told Stuff. “I came away very heartened that we’re going to look at how we could do things better, how our academies could work better, and how we could co-ordinate better. I don’t think a lot of that has happened in the past.”

After experiencing success during the early days of professional rugby, the Blues have struggled of late and have failed to make a playoff appearance since 2011. Their ninth-place finish last season was their best since that last finals appearance.

“None of us can hide from the fact that the Blues haven’t performed for a number of years,” Hart continued. “There was a cohesive approach around the board table to say ‘how can we get better?’  We want the Blues to win but we’ve got to be realistic: we’re coming off a bad run and it’s going to take some time.

“In the past, while there was contact between the top people, there hasn’t been a cohesion. We can help with that, but it’s the people in the organisation who have to make it work.”

Hart believes new Blues head coach Leon MacDonald will be key, with his experience and success with the Crusaders and Tasman earning him the top role.

“He’s a bright young coach with a lot of qualities. He was a good player, a good person and he’s a good coach. If we all give him space and support he can make a wonderful contribution to the Blues long-term,” Hart said.

MacDonald has taken over from Tana Umaga, who remains with the side as an assistant. The pair are joined by former North Harbour coaches Tom Coventry and Daniel Halangahu.

“They’ve got a really good team. Tom [Coventry] is a very good coach too and retaining Tana brings continuity and knowledge.”

Hart is aware that the side won’t transform instantly, but is confident that strides in the right direction have already been made.

“It’s about getting performances on the field and rugby systems in place to create long-term success,” adds Hart. “That’s not going to happen overnight.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“We’ve got to do a better job of being cohesive. If we want our coaches and players to come from the region we’ve got to grow our talent coming through North Harbour, Northland and Auckland into the Blues.

“That doesn’t mean they have to learn their craft here. Alama Ieremia is a good example of that. He’s led a step change in what Auckland has done, on and off the field. The Blues will benefit from that immensely.

“There has been endemic failure in Auckland and the Blues for a while. I’m a life member of the Auckland union and I’m proud of what they’ve done this year. It’s a great step forward, and we’d be silly not to learn from those things.”

The Blues kick off their season against the Crusaders in February.

In other news:

Video Spacer

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

N
Nickers 27 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

41 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Borthwick, it's time to own up – Andy Goode Borthwick, it's time to own up – Andy Goode
Search