Inga Tuigamala: No time for the Blues, just get some attitude

Opinion

I've got no doubt at all that Pat Lam is the right man to be coaching the Blues, despite what even he will regard as a disappointing beginning to his Super 14 coaching career.

The Blues are already out of title contention, going into the final round this weekend, and Lam has a rescue act on his hands.

I know Pat well, and he is a very proud coach and gentleman. He will be hurting. But a poor season can lead to better days, and at least he now has a mandate to make the sharp changes he deems necessary.

The squad is in dire straits. Much of the turnaround must come from within this group of players - it is up to them to find the attitude to restore the Blues to their former glory.

Pat will leave no stone unturned, even if it means going through a video of every game this season.

I'll make a few short, sharp suggestions.

Firstly, I would like to see an older man with vast top level rugby experience included in the management group, to work alongside Lam and help guide the ship. I'm not sure that the management team is complete.

Secondly, the Blues need to establish a halfback/first five-eighths combination and stick with it. The side needs an established core to operate around.

Thirdly, the Blues need to get away from swapping players around positions. Versatility is not helping. It has led to hesitancy, including at the breakdown. I feel the backs have been asked to operate too much as forwards in this area, leaving the backline ill-prepared to attack as it should.

And as a fourth suggestion, I'd drop Albany as a venue for Super 14 games. It's a bogey ground where vital points are often lost.

Yes, the Blues had injury problems, but the depth of talent they have is incredible. They are living proof of the phrase that a team of champions does not necessarily make a champion team. The Blues have those champion players, but they are not gelling as a team.

It is easy to point the finger from the outside, but I hope the public and the board throw their full support behind Lam.

As I have said, he will be a disappointed man because it is almost as if the team disintegrated before his eyes in the final weeks of the competition.

Which brings me to the Super 14's future.

I'll make a plea here for the powers that be to keep South Africa in the regional competition. The Super 14, or whatever number it may end up being, would lose so much without them. I feel that deep down, South Africa will feel the same way and knows it would also be the poorer without New Zealand and Australia.

The New Zealand-South Africa rugby rivalry runs deep and this is the really important part of the Super 14 in my opinion. Australia has only risen in the last 15 years or so, and we all know that the Aussies stabbed New Zealand rugby in the back when it suited them during the 2003 World Cup hosting controversy.

It would be the end of Super rugby as a vibrant competition if South Africa departed and a revamped competition organised for Australia's favour would sit badly with me.

The competition does not need to be extended either. My solutions to restoring the Super 14 to its rightful place would include basing a Pacific Islands team at Mt Smart Stadium. Apart from other benefits, it would create a terrific crosstown rivalry with the Blues.

I'd also bring in a one-stop top-eight finals series, to be rotated around the three countries.

It is imperative that the Super 14 travel be limited. The players are getting smashed up on the field every week, and having them fly halfway around the world all the time is making the situation even worse. They are sick of all the flying, and with good reason.

Fit and firing players will produce a terrific tournament. "Look after the players", should be the mantra, and then everything else will take care of itself.