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Timeous break for the Blues

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:30

The Blues have a bye this weekend and the week off will provide a timeous break for the Auckland-based team.

With flyhalf or inside centre Luke McAlister, utility back Isaia Toeava and wing or full back George Pisi all having suffered injury and making a limited contribution up to now, the Blues' woes continued in their Round Four game against the Crusaders in Christchurch when fullback Paul Williams, inside centre Benson Stanley and flyhalf Stephen Brett all took knocks.

Brett and Williams would have been unlikely to pass fitness tests had the Blues been playing this weekend. The next games for the Blues are against the Brumbies in Auckland on March 19 and then against the Waratahs in Sydney on March 27.

While the Blues have won two, lost two, having lost to the Hurricanes and the Crusaders and beating the Highlanders and the Reds, sportal.co.nz reports that assistant coach Shane Howarth had noticed a greater determination among the players this season.

Howarth said that the Crusaders' players he had spoken to after Saturday's game had reported that they were sore, which reflected the physicality the Blues had brought to the clash.

"I suppose that's a tick for us because it showed that it was the battle that everyone expected it to be," he told sportal.co.nz.

The intercept try by Ryan Crotty from Rudi Wulf's speculative pass had been a big setback, and then Robbie Fruean had done well to secure the win for the Crusaders.

But Howarth said the pleasing thing was the Blues kept at it and scrumhalf Alby Mathewson scored while hooker Tom McCartney had been unlucky not to have a try awarded.

"To put it in a bit of perspective to last year, those kind of games when we got behind in that area tended to go a bit further on than that," he said.

However, this time the team stuck at it and some of its best rugby in the game was played in the latter stages as it attempted to reduce the lead. There was a different mindset and while that was an improvement the side still came away with nothing to show for its effort.

"We'll have a really good look this week at what we can mend," Howarth said.

Howarth told Sportal he was happy with the rate of progress being achieved by Mathewson and Brett. They were getting to know each other and learning the lines the other ran and the cues from Mathewson to Brett to what to expect next.

"It's still a work in progress but it is better that we are being driven a lot more around the park," he said.

The pair have been told that it is their team. It was difficult for them to come in with a lot of guys who they have played a little with, and to then act the boss.

"The more time they spend here, the more important it is that they are around the boys and now the boys are seeing the rugby brains the two guys have got," he said.

Now the important thing was the clarity of their choices and the decisiveness they brought which had the ability to take the team with them.

Howarth said Mathewson's qualities were starting to emerge from the shy character he first met to a player who was coming out of his shell and revealing himself to be a typical halfback with plenty of cheek.

"The more his character comes out, the better for us," he said.

Howarth told Sportal that Mathewson was a player capable of making vital breaks around the ruck and greater exposure to his forward pack would allow him to exploit those chances.

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