Rugby: Blues gear up for a hard game in Durban

Luke McAlister. Photo / Getty Images

Injuries, form and the opposition have produced regular Blues selection changes over the years, but coach Pat Lam has managed to keep the same formation for the start of their offshore campaign this weekend in Durban.

The side has barely trained since their arrival in the coastal South African city, but all the players have recovered well after the opening win against the Crusaders and their long flight to the Republic to face the Sharks.

After all the medical assessments, Lam has made just two alterations to his reserves with lock Kurtis Haiu moving in for Filo Paulo and Luke McAlister replacing Lachie Munro.

Utility McAlister was unavailable for the Blues competition start after being knocked out in the side's final trial game against Counties Manukau. However he was cleared to travel and has passed a psychometric test to make the bench for this match.

"We were happy with the performance of the team last week and want to keep the momentum going," Lam said. "Obviously this is another big game and these guys have been rewarded with another front. This is a tough game and we have not won over here since 2004 and that's a long time."

Two members of the squad, five-eighths Stephen Brett and centre Jared Payne, were from the Canterbury area and had been offered the option of returning home to be with family and friends after the earthquake. Both had decided to stay while the Blues had been sending messages of support.

"I texted Kieran Read and got a reply that everything was okay," Jerome Kaino said.

Lam said the weather since their arrival in Durban had been mixed with rain, thunderstorms and great humidity.

"The emphasis will certainly be on ball protection," he added.

Lam was sure their hosts would bring a very physical and committed approach to their match on Sunday. The Blues would need to muscle up, conserve their energy, use their reserves and avoid penalties because of the Sharks kicking expertise.

The Blues were also keen to meet referee Jaco Peyper tomorrow so they were in sync with the way he was going to control the breakdowns and other key areas in the match.

Sharks coach John Plumtree might be twitchy after he made admiring comments about the Blues' quality against the Crusaders and pointed out his own team's deficiencies in beating the Cheetahs.

"Our lineout was poor by our own standards and we struggled to get across the gain line because we didn't launch well," he said.

"But I thought our kicking was excellent, our scrummaging was good and I was happy with our defence."