Kirwan's reward for failure? More time, more support. It's wrong

This season quickly settled into a familiar routine, with the Blues on target to finish in the bottom third of competition. Photo / Getty Images

Confirmation that Sir John Kirwan has almost certainly convinced the Blues board to retain him as head coach will be greeted with horror by many of his team's supporters.

They might be wondering how they might find themselves a role in which failure and mediocrity over three years are rewarded with a contract extension and the granting of a little more support.

Continuity is one thing, but what about accountability?

Let's look at the facts. In Kirwan's first two years, he had the support of World Cup-winning coaches Graham Henry and Mick Byrne. The result was two 10th-place finishes in a 15-team competition that included two away victories - one in his first year and one in his second.

This season quickly settled into a familiar routine, with the Blues on target to finish in the bottom third of competition.

The fact that Kirwan couldn't find anyone suitable to coach the backs this year should ring alarm bells - did no one want to work with him, or was it simply that he couldn't find the right person?

His decision to then coach the backline himself was always going to make his overall job tougher, but it also gave him a ready-made excuse should things not work out again.

Kirwan has his qualities. He is charismatic and likeable, but can he coach? The truth is, that doesn't seem to matter in this new age of consultation and box-ticking. Kirwan clearly has the backing of his players, has accepted his faults, and has promised to change for the better. That's enough, it seems.

The question is, if this is the direction the board is willing to take, where will it end? What will it take for constant failure to be deemed unacceptable? How many defeats is too many?

From the outside, it appears the board is not only condoning mediocrity, but actively supporting it.

At a bare minimum, it should have tested the open market before rubber-stamping Kirwan's plan. Even had it then decided to go with him, it would have sent a clear message to all - fans, players, and Kirwan himself - that the franchise has high expectations and standards and woe betide anyone who doesn't live up to them.

The Blues will try to paint a picture of "rigorous reviews" and "hard questions", but allowing Kirwan to stay on without being truly tested - and, better yet, letting him appoint his own successor in Tabai Matson - seems fundamentally wrong, a case of the tail wagging the dog when everyone else, especially the fans, deserves better.