KEY POINTS:
Blues rugby coach David Nucifora says he hasn't considered whether he'd like to be an assistant to new Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
Nucifora was one of five Australian candidates for the Wallabies position, for which the appointment process was extended while Deans first sought the All Blacks job.
With a New Zealander now in charge of the Wallabies, many believe an Australian is likely to be appointed in an assistant role but the Blues coach said he hadn't been approached about it.
"I suppose we do go back to the guessing game again but I haven't thought about it," he said yesterday.
"I don't know what Robbie's thinking or what the ARU are thinking. I haven't really moved down that path yet and it'd be wasted energy to do that until anything happens.
"If someone's interested I'm sure they'll get in touch with me at some point but until that happens I'm just really concentrating on here."
Nucifora won a Super 12 title with the Brumbies in 2004 but was given notice during that season due to a "player power" revolt.
He joined the Blues in 2005, guiding them to the semifinals last year.
He said he was happy enough with the process which saw Deans get the job, apart from the fact it went on longer than he wanted, allowing Deans to apply.
"I was disappointed, but I think I was realistic about it last week as to what was going to happen. I felt like I probably got passed in the straight," he said.
"It was a distraction, and a distraction for the people around here as well. This is a hard enough job at times and a busy enough one and now we can focus all our energies on this season."
Nucifora said he was now concentrating on getting the Blues to perform well in 2008 and coming up to speed with new laws introduced to the tournament.
They include free kicks instead of penalties for most infringements other than offside and foul play; requiring each backline to be 5m from the hindmost foot at the scrum; not allowing a ball that has been passed or run inside the 22m line to be kicked out on the full; and modification of the complex tackled ball rules.
"There will be some opportunities there. Whether they're as great as people think I'm not so sure," Nucifora said. "But I know that we'll all be looking hard at each other's games in the early rounds to see who's come up with what, and I suppose that makes it quite exciting."
He expected the ball to be in play longer and for the game to speed up as a result.
The other major change Nucifora has for 2008 is that he'll have his entire team available for the season.
The Blues went well in the first half of 2007 while their All Blacks were in the reconditioning squad but their form and squad unity suffered once they became available again.
Some All Blacks had little game time with the Blues and this was a contributing factor to the fallout that led to lock Ali Williams being sent home from South Africa before their semifinal. Williams has since transferred to the Crusaders.
"Obviously it's nice to have a full team for the whole season from start to finish," Nucifora said. "That's a positive, it just helps the logistics of organising everything."
- NZPA
