KEY POINTS:
Veteran halfback Danny Lee's nomadic rugby career is about to enter a new phase after he received a phone call that left him surprised and "stoked".
The Hawke's Bay skipper will make a return to Super rugby next season after a two-year break, having been drafted by the
Blues.
Lee, who last played at that level in 2005 with the Highlanders, was unveiled today as one seven new faces in coach David Nucifora's squad.
The Blues have lost Steve Devine and David Gibson to injury-enforced retirement and Lee will provide an option to Taniela Moa, who got his first taste of Super 14 earlier this year.
Lee, 31, was told about his inclusion yesterday and admitted the news had come out of the blue.
"I was probably resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to be in Super rugby again and I was just enjoying my rugby with Hawke's Bay," he said.
"It's pretty special to be back at that level. When I got the call, I was pretty stoked."
Lee is one of two Magpies in the Blues' 28-man squad, along with lock Bryn Evans.
In all, six Hawke's Bay players have been picked up by the five New Zealand franchises.
Lee was in no doubt that the province's fairy tale run in the Air NZ Cup, where they made the semifinals before losing to eventual champions Auckland, was a key factor.
But he was also disappointed that more of his team-mates didn't get a call-up, citing centre Jason Shoemark and loosehead prop Faka'naua Taumalolo as being particularly unlucky.
The Blues will be Lee's fourth Super rugby side. He made his debut with the Hurricanes in 1997 and has also played for the Chiefs.
A two-test All Black in 2002, Lee said moving around was part and parcel of being a professional rugby player and something he had no qualms about doing.
It had become a little more difficult now that he had a young family, "but my wife is very supportive and that makes things so much easier".
After Lee's inspirational leadership carried Hawke's Bay to the the provincial playoffs, he missed the knockout phase with a broken leg.
The leg, which is still in plaster, prevented him from attending the Blues' squad announcement in Auckland this morning.
The cast is due to be removed next week and Lee was confident it wouldn't be long before he was up and running again.
Apart from Lee and Evans, the Blues' other additions are Auckland backs Benson Stanley and James Helleur, All Black and former Highlander first five-eighth Nick Evans, Auckland hooker Tom McCartney and Northland prop Bronson Murray.
All bar Lee and Nick Evans are new to Super rugby.
Nucifora said Lee's experience would be a valuable asset.
"We're fortunate we've got Taniela and he got some opportunities in the last Super 14, which helped him, and he's had a wonderful Air NZ Cup," he said.
"We also felt the need for experience is very important and Danny provides us with that."
Nucifora said lock and prop were two of the areas the Blues had looked at closely in compiling their roster.
Evans' inclusion comes in the wake of the loss of All Black Ali Williams to the Crusaders and former test representative Greg Rawlinson to English club rugby.
He will join Kurtis Haiu, Anthony Boric and Troy Flavell as the locking options.
"We also needed to make sure we had the right balance in our propping department as well," Nucifora said.
"Tighthead is a very important position and Bronson Murray has played over 50 games for Northland. He deserves his opportunity."
- NZPA