Rugby: Brett's burden of great expectations

Like many rugby players around the country, Stephen Brett wondered why the Blues could not connect with their talent pool.

From outside the Auckland area - and looking on from within the successful cloisters of the Crusaders and Canterbury rugby - Brett and his mates took some delight in their troubles.

They were not alone. The entire nation sniggered at how the Blues could be so inconsistent in the Super 14.

Brett will not have any answers yet, but he is in the core of it now - slap bang in the middle as the next five-eighth targeted with turning the Blues' woes around.

He wears the No10 jersey tonight at Albany against the Hurricanes as the team's latest hope for guidance since Carlos Spencer decided he'd had enough and went north.

Since then, Tasesa Lavea, Luke McAlister, Isa Nacewa, David Holwell, Nick Evans, Isaia Toeava and Jimmy Gopperth have all been picked as first five-eighths with varying success.

This season coach Pat Lam settled on Brett and Daniel Kirkpatrick as his two candidates for backline director.

Brett, 24, laughs about his switch from the Crusaders to the northern laughing stock. "Yeah, not bad, is it," he says. "I am excited. I have big goals I want to achieve, my path was a bit blocked down south so I look on this as a great opportunity.

"There will be a lot of pressure on me and the Blues to operate, to get our combinations going and to settle into this week by week."

For Brett, the shift was a no-brainer if he wanted to continue as a first five-eighths. Down south, Daniel Carter and Colin Slade were in his way so he packed up and shifted.

"Yep, I moved up to the big smoke and so far it has been great. The team has been very accommodating and we have been working on gameplans that I think suit my game.

"I am a running first five and there is a lot of exciting talent up here in the Blues that thinks along similar lines."

Brett has played 39 Super rugby games in four campaigns and backs that experience with 45 provincial caps as part of Canterbury's national championship-winning side.

He is a goalkicker, too, who will be asked to shoulder those duties, at least while McAlister recovers from injury. He has the experience and if his Blues pack performs, a round-four clash against the Crusaders will have plenty of sting.