Rugby: Must-win game to dispel Blue funk

Blues centre Ma'a Nonu in action during the 2012 Super Rugby match between DHL Stormers and Blues. Photo / Getty

It might not just be Blues bosses who take a keen interest in the team's progress over the next few months.

Big-spending Irish giants Munster are on a worldwide search for a new coach and there's a suggestion that beleaguered Blues mentor Pat Lam could be one of three New Zealanders in their sights.

Lam is preparing his Blues side to face the Hurricanes tonight, acknowledging his team is at a "must-win" stage already, with three losses in their opening four matches.

The Blues' struggles and Lam's delay in signing an option to stay at the franchise next year have increased speculation that the two are set for a parting of the ways, but the 43-year-old has refused to discuss his contract.

When quizzed about Munster's possible interest he responded that it was news to him.

Munster coach Tony McGahan is leaving to join Robbie Deans' staff and the Irish powerhouse is thought to be monitoring Lam, ex-All Black coach Wayne Smith, Canterbury coach Rob Penney, and South African Nick Mallett. Current forwards coach and local Anthony Foley is also a strong candidate.

Smith, in high demand after his successful partnership at the World Cup with Graham Henry and Steve Hansen, said his name seemed to crop up whenever a job materialised in Europe.

The 54-year-old Chiefs assistant was linked with Mallett as a possible dream-team combination for England, but interim coach Stuart Lancaster's excellent Six Nations campaign has put pressure on the RFU to retain him in a full-time capacity.

There are still influential figures in England who believe Smith would be a wise foil for Lancaster, but being able to take charge of Munster, in front of those passionate Limerick and Cork crowds, would also be appealing.

"I've got a management group based in London and they get approached by all sorts of clubs, but for the moment I'm really inspired by this Chiefs campaign and it's a good place to be at the moment," Smith said.

Lam has also been linked to Bath, where former mentor Ian McGeechan is director of rugby.

For the moment, Lam's only focus is pulling the Blues out of their Super 15 funk and that starts in earnest tonight.

Adding more intrigue than usual to the clash against the Hurricanes is the presence of Piri Weepu and Ma'a Nonu in the Blues' starting line-up. Weepu will start in the No 10 jersey for the first time in his short Blues career, with Alby Mathewson, another former Hurricane, returning at halfback.

A year ago that scenario would have seemed fanciful, given the pair's lifelong ties to the Wellington area. However rookie coach Mark Hammett viewed All Blacks veterans Ma'a Nonu and Andrew Hore as barriers to progress and they were shipped out.

Weepu followed his mate Nonu north, no doubt with expectations that are yet to materialise.

Early signs are promising for the Hurricanes, but there's the knowledge their two wins have come against traditional easybeats the Lions and Force.

A win on the road against the Blues, even a patched-up outfit shorn of All Blacks like Jerome Kaino, Anthony Boric, Isaia Toeava and Keven Mealamu, would give impetus to the belief they are on the right path.

It might also provide a measure of vindication for Hammett, not that he would ever admit as much.

A Blues win would ease pressure on the under-achieving franchise and lighten the load on Lam's shoulders.