Blues face an embarrassment of riches on the wing

By CHRIS RATTUE

They form the deadliest trio in world rugby and Blues coach Peter Sloane has a quandary on his hands - finding places for his star wings.

Doug Howlett, Rupeni Caucaunibuca and Joe Rokocoko showed their distinctive wares as the Blues comfortably beat the Hurricanes 36-12 in a trial match at Albany on Saturday night.

Okay, it was a warm-up match and it never pays to read much into them, but it was still an encouraging start for the champions, who look ready to blitz opponents this year.

Howlett, Caucaunibuca and Rokocoko were not the dominant factors in the match at North Harbour Stadium, but when they struck it was with great effect.

Yet one of them may end up on the bench each week.

Howlett played eight matches at fullback last year, but test No 15 Mils Muliaina might be established there now and Ben Atiga is the up-and-coming centre.

Selections are so flexible these days, and Blues fans will have to see what hand Sloane and assistant coach Bruce Robertson play.

Sloane may use a horses-for-courses rotation for his wings, influenced by the tactics each week.

Rokocoko has the sheer pace that made him a try-scoring freak in his first season with the All Blacks.

No one in world rugby can make something out of nothing like the mercurial, low-to-the-ground Caucaunibuca.

Howlett, the senior wing, has guile and pace, although he did not seem to be at top speed on Saturday.

Rokocoko, who replaced Caucaunibuca in the second half, finished off the Blues victory with a familiar dive for try, after flying away from the opposition on an 80m run.

Early in the match, Caucaunibuca had magically appeared to grab an inside pass from Atiga, bursting through what seemed well-set defence for a try with hardly a hand laid on him.

Howlett got his chance in the second half and was surprisingly overhauled by Sireli Bobo, but he kept the move alive with a lobbed inside pass and then finished off the try himself.

Howlett was also superb in one instance of scrambling defence.

Has any New Zealand rugby side possessed a posse of wings with such devastating potential?

Saturday's match may have been of little importance in the long-run, and was played on tricky underfoot conditions that made it more of a lottery. But it still gave a taste of what the Blues' opponents have to deal with this season: these wings operating outside a backline run by Carlos Spencer and full of rising stars.

After struggling early on, the Hurricanes pressured the Blues but the home side's scrambling and front-on defence was usually up to the task.

One of the Blues five tries, to forward Angus Macdonald, came thanks to an extremely optimistic chip-and-chase attempt by David Holwell from behind his own goal line that Macdonald charged down. It was not the sort of ploy likely to be found in any genuine Super 12 clash.

Points of note:

* All Black centre Ma'a Nonu was an even larger and maybe more powerful figure than last season, although at this point in the season he did not appear as sharp.

* All Black lock Bradley Mika cut a more athletic figure than in the past for the Blues, and was strong in lineouts and round the field.

* Unheralded South African prop Daniel Muller, who has transferred to Auckland from Nelson Bays, was brought into the side for the injured John Afoa. Muller made a strong run and his call-up might indicate he is a player on the rise.

* The Blues leave for Australia on Thursday to play their last two warm-up games, against the Reds on Saturday and the Waratahs four days later.