Survival of the fittest

Prospective blues players will be subjected to rigorous testing during the Air New Zealand Cup amid fears the squad was not fit enough this season.

Blues coach David Nucifora is concerned some players in his 28-man squad lacked the physical conditioning and strength to make an impact at Super 14.

Some Blues players had to spend early pre-season doing extra aerobic and strength work, which ate into the time they had available to develop team skills.

To prevent that happening this year, Blues staff will be given greater access to players at North Harbour, Northland and Auckland during the Air New Zealand Cup.

Players in the frame for selection will be required to undergo New Zealand Rugby Union-designed fitness tests to provide the Blues staff with continuous feedback about their physical conditioning.

With a better handle on where players are at physically, the Blues' fitness trainers will tailor programmes and workloads to help individuals reach the end of the year in the necessary shape to get through Super 14.

While a lack of fitness alludes to a culture of players failing to observe professional standards, the problem is more a result of the system, which sees players spend six months with their Super 14 franchise then return to a provincial competition that requires them to taper and manage their training load.

"A player's physical development cannot be done in three months or six months. It has to be done over 12 months," said Nucifora. "The strength programmes need to be coordinated, that way players present in the right physical condition. You shouldn't be wasting time on basic conditioning work."

News that there will be better monitoring of players has been well received by North Harbour coach Allan Pollock.

He agrees with Nucifora that some Harbour players were lacking physical preparation, particularly those such as Mike Noble, George Pisi and Anthony Boric who were in their first year of professional rugby.

"I would agree that a number of North Harbour players could have been better prepared. You can take it as read that won't be happening again," said Pollock.

"Our players who were new to Super 14 came from a club rugby background, then had a three-week conditioning window before the NPC. Then we had the philosophy at Harbour during the NPC that we'd reduce the workload as the season went on. In 2004, we would have made the semifinals if we had won either of our last two games.

"So last year we wanted to try and keep our players fresh and if there was any doubt, we would undertrain."

That formula proved successful for Harbour as they made the semifinals last year, but Pollock says he has already planned to make some amendments for the forthcoming campaign.

Players will complete three weights sessions a week as they did last year, but in addition, there will be a high intensity aerobic session once a week.

That aerobic session should equip the players to handle the NZRU testing that will require them to complete a 60m sprint, followed by a 400m run and then a 1500m run, with designated periods of rest. They will also have to complete a series of shuttle runs carrying a 30kg weight.

Auckland are also keen to promote stronger links with the Super 14 franchise.

"I can understand where David is coming from," said Auckland assistant coach Shane Howarth. "Different coaches have different standards and I can understand that he might have certain concerns about certain guys.

"Take a young player like Kurtis Haiu. He is only 20 and is still growing into his body.

"I think the academy system is doing a fantastic job in developing the skills of young players and getting them fit, but there is a big step up to Super 14 and that means it will take players time to build the physical strength and conditioning.

"I think we already have good communication with the Blues and I have no problem with working more closely and improving that.

"But we need to ensure that we have the guys in the best possible condition for us during the Air New Zealand Cup competition.

"While we have a healthy rivalry with North Harbour and Northland, at the end of the day we all want the Blues to succeed."