Blues v Highlanders
Eden Park, 7.35 tonight
Joe Rokocoko doesn't get all bent out of shape when people start wondering why he isn't playing well.
If the public are pondering a flat patch of form from the prolific winger, the chances are he's doing much the same himself.
"I tend to think the same thing - what's
happening? And try to find answer," he said.
That answer, it seems, tends to involve his teammates getting the ball into his hands. Last week against the Lions play went Rokocoko's way and he duly carved up, setting up one try with a scorching break and scoring another.
But when starved of possession, as he has been for much of the season, he can cut a frustrated, even disinterested figure. With tonight's match against the in-form Highlanders promising to be a tight affair, the Blues will be desperately hoping their match-winner sees some ball.
It will be up to their injury-hit pack and reinstated first five-eighths Jimmy Gopperth to ensure he gets it.
Having been dropped after the round seven defeat by the Waratahs, Gopperth is a player under pressure.
Coach Pat Lam lauded Tasesa Lavea's return against the Lions, saying the oft-injured playmaker had been instrumental in the Blues rediscovering a more fluent style of play.
Lam has been less effusive in his praise of Gopperth but, with Lavea back on the injured list with a hamstring strain, the coach insists he has confidence in the former Hurricane to institute his game plan.
"There is a game that we want to play and 10 is like your quarterback, he has got to drive it and that is the challenge that Jimmy has," Lam said.
"Obviously Tasesa played well but the challenge now is for Jimmy to take our game to them.
"He sat in the coaches' box last week and got a good feel for what we are after. Now he has the opportunity to go out and show us what he can do."
Gopperth isn't the only Blue under pressure. The spotlight is sure to be shining on reinstated halfback Taniela Moa after his off-field dramas, while prop Tony Woodcock will also be under the gun if he returns from a lengthy illness-enforced layoff.
The decision on Woodcock would be left until this morning, Lam said.
With the winner to keep in touch with the top four and the loser to all but drop out of semifinal contention, there is certainly plenty at stake.
Lam, though, insists the table is the last thing on his team's mind.
"We don't even look at the table now, just go out play our rugby, play our game and do our job well.
"That is something we hadn't been doing [until last week]."
Having dispatched the Cheetahs, Bulls and Reds in succession, the Highlanders are in buoyant mood.
They also have a settled side, with wing Fetu'u Vainikolo coming in for Kendrick Lynn the only change to the team that beat the Reds in Invercargill last week.
Eden Park, however, has not been kind to the visitors, who posted their only win there in 2002.
In contrast to the steadily improving Highlanders, the Blues have been a model of inconsistency, riding a rollercoaster of impressive victories and catastrophic losses.
Rokocoko, for one, believes they might be about to discover the consistency a concerted playoff push will demand.
A change from a game plan that involved plenty of kicking to a more familiar ball-in-hand approach had helped, he said - and last week's victory over the Lions.
BLUES v HIGHLANDERS
Blues
Paul Williams
Joe Rokocoko
Anthony Tuitavake
Isaia Toeava
Rudi Wulf
Jimmy Gopperth
Taniela Moa
Jerome Kaino
Josh Blackie
Chris Lowrey
Anthony Boric
Kurtis Haiu
Charlie Faumuina
Keven Mealamu
Woodcock/Mailau
Reserves: Tom McCartney, Tevita Mailau/James Afoa, Jay Williams, Peter Saili, Grayson Hart, Michael Hobbs, Rene Ranger.
Highlanders
Israel Dagg
Ben Smith
Jason Shoemark
Daniel Bowden
Fetu'u Vainikolo
Mathew Berquist
Jimmy Cowan (c)
George Naoupu
Alando Soakai
Adam Thomson
Tom Donnelly
Josh Bekhuis
Clint Newland
David Hall
Jamie Mackintosh
Reserves: Jason Rutledge, Chris King, Hayden Triggs, Steven Setephano, Sean Romans, Johnny Leota, Kendrick Lynn.
