David Leggat: When 'Go, run' turns ho-hum

Hey, hey, we're off and away into the brave new whizzbang world of Super 14.

And there was a certain symmetry to the Blues kicking off the enlarged professional competition against the Hurricanes.

After all, it was these teams who began the Super 12 back on March 1, 1996 in Palmerston North.

Back then, the idea of hot tub girls - it is still summer after all - fire eaters and stilt walkers and acrobatic dancers would have had the conservative rugby heads spluttering.

If you looked hard at the centre of Eden Park last night you could see the outline of a cricket pitch running diagonally from one corner flag to another.

That's a reminder that the West Indies will amble out here for a couple of hours of Twenty20 next Thursday.

Confused? You may well be, but there were about 35,000 people there last night who know their outswingers from their rolling mauls and voted with their feet.

Too soon for rugger? Try telling them.

And given the dominance the Blues enjoyed over the Hurricanes in the past 10 years - eight wins, a draw and a solitary loss - it might have seemed appropriate had they carried on where they left off.

At halftime, 16-3 up and with a measure of control, the Blues were well on track. But this isn't the first time things have not turned out the way you'd have expected with the Auckland franchise.

The first Mexican wave rolled haphazardly round the ground at the 25-minute mark, a global telltale sign that ho-hum has replaced go! Run!

And there was a curate's egg feel to the game; some good bits, some ordinary but no amount of preparation will get teams perfectly primed to hit the ground running in round one of the real deal.

Still, we've had our first glimpse of the old warrior, Tana Umaga, in his post-All Black career.

Much like the game itself, he showed the odd classy touch, botched a couple of passes but ran about enthusiastically.

Unburdened by the responsibilities of old, you know he's going to enjoy himself this season.

And he got the Hurricanes' second try 24 minutes from the end in a move which contained, ahem, at least two pancake passes - flat, at best - and promptly headed for the bench.

That turned the game the Hurricanes' way as they turned on the razzle dazzle in the final quarter.

The rain lashed the ground in the second half, as if to thumb the nose at the summery types and prove it really is the rugby season, and the Hurricanes simply handled it better.

Maybe the old imagination playing tricks, but the rugby seemed more dramatic, to have more edge to it, when the weather turned wintry.

The Blues have plenty of work to do and the Hurricanes retain the knack of frustrating the faithful one moment, and exhilarating them the next.

Just proving you can tinker with the size of the show, but some things don't change.