The Ancient Mariner lamented there being water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink. Auckland rugby has a similar lament - players, players everywhere nor any halfback to pick. Or first five-eighths. Or No 8.
That might seem a harsh criticism of the reigning NPC champions. Harsh until you ask
which of the current halfbacks in Auckland would get a game at Canterbury, Wellington, Waikato or Otago?
Would Steve Devine be considered in the same league as Kevin Senio, Piri Weepu, Byron Kelleher or Chris Smylie? He was in 2003 when he was playing like a rice bubble - with snap, crackle and pop.
But injuries have taken their toll on Devine and now he looks more snapped, cracked and popped. He's lost some of the energy and dynamism he needed to offset his lack of physical presence and is struggling to be the influence he once was.
His injured understudy, David Gibson, once upon a time played a blinder in the 2003 Super 12 final and then just as he promised to push on, seemingly turned the dial the wrong way. He has electric pace but too many people only know that because they've heard about it rather than seen it.
Weepu, Kelleher, Senio, Jimmy Cowan, Smylie, Andy Ellis and possibly even Jamie Nutbrown are closer to test jerseys than anyone in Auckland.
And that lack of quality in a critical berth is being felt acutely by the Blues right now. Once Gibson pulled out of the campaign injured, coach David Nucifora had no choice but to call-up Northland's John Senio and use Harbour's Junior Poluleuligaga as cover. It left a team with serious title aspirations scraping the barrel and the consequences have been predictable - the Blues have been wayward and laborious in trying to link forwards with backs.
There is, though, a silver lining, which was sown a couple of years back when Auckland NPC coach Pat Lam returned from Scotland and nearly fell of his chair when he saw the dearth of No 9s.
"A few years ago we identified a shortage of halfbacks and openside flankers," said Lam. "So we set about identifying players in those areas and developing their skills through the high performance unit.
"Now we have guys like Taniela Moa, who played for us throughout last year's NPC, and Brendon Helleur coming through. They have worked with Mark Sayers (bio-mechanics expert) and Geoff Moon (high performance manager) and now I'm confident our screening is working."
Lam didn't see a similar shortage of first five-eighths when he assessed the Auckland landscape back in 2004.
There was Carlos Spencer who was still only 27. A promising league convert Tasesa Lavea and a ludicrously talented schoolkid by the name of Isaia Toeava. There was also Murray Williams, Orene Ai'i, James Arlidge and even an old timer by the name of Lee Stensness.
But Spencer headed to Northampton when his mercurial talent was no longer appreciated. Williams thought the queue was too long so joined the Bay of Plenty. Ai'i was unsuccessfully converted to halfback and moved to Japan. Arlidge took the huff at being loaned to Northland and went overseas, while Stensness was caught by Father Time.
So now there's Lavea and Toeava. The former is a decent bloke going through the sort of rough patch you wouldn't wish on an Australian, while the latter seems to have a big future as a fullback.
Again the lack of talent at pivot has hurt the Blues. They need experience, consistency and a little magic from that crucial 8, 9, 10 axis.
Harbour have done their bit in providing Nick Williams and Luke McAlister. But Auckland are not making a weighty enough contribution.
It is an issue that is being addressed. "We generally have a development player coming through in every position," said Moon. "We maybe have more depth in some positions than others with tighthead prop and first five-eighths a bit light.
"When you have long-serving players like Spencer and Xavier Rush it heightens the chances of players looking for opportunities elsewhere. It just so happened that Rush left six months after Sione Lauaki. But we have younger guys coming through at No 8."
There will be more smiling faces at Eden Park when a few of these youngsters fulfil their promise.
-HERALD ON SUNDAY
The Ancient Mariner lamented there being water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink. Auckland rugby has a similar lament - players, players everywhere nor any halfback to pick. Or first five-eighths. Or No 8.
That might seem a harsh criticism of the reigning NPC champions. Harsh until you ask
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