By Wynne Gray
What is Auckland rugby going to do about the mess it is in?
What direction will we see from the board and chief executive Geoff Hipkins as they confront their coaching conundrum?
While Jed Rowlands remains in denial about any player dissatisfaction and also in review as NPC coach, Hipkins has been aware of the internal anxieties for some time.
If you listened to Hipkins after the problems were first made public, everything was still hunky-dory. Does that explain why the players felt they had to notify the NZRFU this week of their worries about Rowlands' coaching style and strategies?
Hipkins may have told certain people to take a unified, happy line in South Africa, but that was not going to heal the squad's general disquiet. Not even some NZRFU spin at the review meeting suggesting the turmoil would make Rowlands a better coach next season, could deflect the Blues from writing their unflattering resume.
Anxiety has festered on for too long, some sources suggesting there were worries before the Super 12 even started. Concerned discussions started after game one; there were a number of other meetings and even the NZRFU was involved.
The players tried for Rowlands. They even held extra training sessions to get some combinations and patterns going. They thought the only solution was to support Rowlands, even though he seemed to distance himself from help and any profitable partnership with assistant coach Mac McCallion.
Before the squad went to South Africa, Hipkins got player feedback on the issues and told the ARU board there were some difficulties. What then did the ARU administration do to guide Rowlands and the squad, or was a string of four wins thought to be the tonic? Did they think victory would eradicate the problems?
Former All Black coach Laurie Mains echoed many others' feelings after he suggested the Blues had paid the price for ignoring traditional values when they made their coaching choice.
He was referring to the decision last October by a committee of NZRFU and Blues officials to fast-track Rowlands as coach ahead of John Boe, Maurice Trapp and McCallion.
The NZRFU maintains that choice was unanimous but it is understood the ARU board directive was in favour of Trapp being picked.
"Some people making the appointments are more interested in how someone does in an interview than their record and what they do on the training field," said Mains. "There is a lot more to coaching at the top level than knowing a bit about rugby and being a good talker."
The credentials of senior men had been overlooked and the Blues suffered from that, while young coaches had to beware of moving too far, too fast.
Where does that leave Auckland in their immediate task of confirming their NPC coach, and what recommendation will they pursue for the Blues job next season? If Rowlands was not the ARU board's favoured choice last time and there were all the subsequent dramas, how can they go down the same path for NPC and the next Super 12 season?
