Dalton Papali'i (centre) will retain the Blues captaincy this season. Photo / Photosport
Dalton Papali'i (centre) will retain the Blues captaincy this season. Photo / Photosport
World Cup year brings benefits and challenges as the Blues adopt a championship or bust mentality in their quest to upgrade their frustrating bridesmaid Super Rugby status.
The Blues’ 13-strong All Blacks contingent began their reintegration with a two-hour training session under the baking summer sun at Eden rugby’s GribblehirstPark on Thursday.
Caleb Clarke was the only high-profile absentee with illness while Dalton Papali’i, who will retain the Blues captaincy this season, took a limited part due to a minor calf issue.
Blues coach Leon MacDonald and his cohort of assistants put 52 players through their paces as they prepare for two preseason hit-outs next month, but it’s the All Blacks’ return, following last year’s northern tour, that signals Super Rugby Pacific’s second season is under one month away.
With the World Cup looming large in France in September, MacDonald expects incumbent All Blacks and fringe contenders to be highly motivated across the competition.
Blues stars Beauden Barrett and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. Photo / Photosport
Of the Blues’ All Blacks, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Mark Telea, Stephen Perofeta, Hoskins Sotutu and Nepo Laulala will be among those conscious of the squeeze in their positions.
“There’s plenty to play for, definitely, with the World Cup,” MacDonald said. “A lot of our guys will feel they need a really good season to confirm their place in the All Blacks.
“It matters. These guys have to go and prove themselves again to get on that plane so it will bring a positive edge.
“There’s still unfinished business for us, too. We were pleased with last year but to win the title is our ultimate goal. The message today is we start again. We’ll take some lessons from last year but we’ve got to go and earn it again.”
MacDonald and his New Zealand Super Rugby counterparts face a delicate juggling act this season with the All Blacks mandated to play no more than five straight matches before being required to take a rest week. While those stipulations were in place last season, in a World Cup year it has been extended to include the quarter-finals and semifinal weeks.
“That’s going to be our big challenge, even more so this year,” MacDonald said. “It’s going to be stringent, making sure guys aren’t playing more than five games. We’ve got a reasonably good chunk of All Blacks now. You look at every game and think there’s none you want to rest them, so it’s about trusting your squad. We did it well last year and we’ve got to do it again.
“I looked at the planning sheet we started last year with and where we finished and it was completely different.”
Blues head coach Leon MacDonald speaks to players during a pre-season training session. Photo / Photosport
In a significant boost for the Blues, Patrick Tuipulotu is back on deck after his Japanese sabbatical. His sizable frame will be welcomed in the engine room but MacDonald confirmed Papali’i will retain the captaincy, with Tuipulotu installed as deputy alongside Beauden Barrett.
Papali’i led the Blues during their 15-match unbeaten surge to the final, where they were then strangled by the Crusaders at Eden Park, superbly last season. He carried that form to establish his presence as the All Blacks first-choice openside in the final three tests on the northern tour after Sam Cane fractured his cheekbone in Tokyo and returned home.
“He took what he was doing with the Blues all year and was able to take it to the next level,” MacDonald said. “He’s behind the All Blacks captain so it’s easy to step back a little bit and let the skipper run the show. For him to stand up and grab it like he has was awesome. It’s a tough position — you’ve still got Ardie [Savea] there as well — so for Dalton it’s going to be another big year as captain of the Blues but he’ll be wanting to play good rugby as well.”
Papali’i has shed the blond hair and gold tooth that, alongside his influential performances that included an intercept try in the defeat to England at Twickenham, made him a standout at the end of last year. Yet his same hunger remains.
Dalton Papali'i celebrates his try against England at Twickenham last year with Blues and All Blacks teammate Rieko Ioane. Photo / Photosport
Hear him reflect on last year’s deflating Super Rugby final loss, when he launched a rapid recovery from appendicitis off the bench, and it is clear where his initial focus lies.
“It’s still tough to talk about. It was a real low point for me,” Papali’i said of the loss to the Crusaders. “We worked so hard and we didn’t finish, we didn’t execute.
“You look back now and think it’s a good learning. I’m telling myself you have to lose one to win one. It still hurts, but it’s a good thing for these boys. We’re still a young group so having a bit of edge and fire, I think we’re going to explode this year.
“The key will be executing in those moments. That’s what the Crusaders did to us. They took away our lineout and we had no go-forward, so learning how to adapt when something isn’t going right, that’s going to be key for us. Last year we blew it. This year we’ve got to have the same mindset and execute.”
