Benjis Blues options

Lots of speculation about what will be the best fit position wise for Benji.

His switch to the Blues has been confirmed, but it'll still be some time before Benji Marshall knows what position he'll play in Super Rugby.

Marshall has confirmed a two year deal to play in Auckland from next season.

He's been touted as a potential first or second five, or a fullback, and Marshall is keeping his options open.

"I think it would be stupid to go out and say 'I want to play this, I want to play that'. I think I need to get involved and actually get a feel for it."

Blues coach Sir John Kirwan is leaning towards fullback.

"I'm sort of thinking 15.

"He likes 10 - he's the type of guy that wants to run a football team. And we also think 12, because there's a lot going on for the 10s. You need 12s that can communicate and run a football team."

The pair will meet next week to discuss how he'll make the transition, with Kirwan hinting a rest may be on the cards after the NRL season finishes

Looking at the options andwho he may replace or be rotated with-

JK says possibly fullback-

Charles Piutau is the current Blues fullback and has impressed the AB selectors enough to be included in the ABs training squad this year. 

Piutau also plays on the left wing so maybe that's where he'll get switched to in order to accomodate Benji. With Halai on the other wing and Benji at fullback that would be quite a good looking back three.

Benji likes 10-

Chris Noakes and Baden Kerr more or less have this covered which also begs the question where was Hurricane Beauden Barret going to go had he signed along with Benji.

The Inside Centre option.

Francis Saili is the current Blues 12 i think and also named in this years AB training squad so he's no slouch either.

All this points to much greater depth in the Blues squad and i can see Eden Park filling up and alot more Blues fans returning to the fold to support a much more competitive  and dangerous looking Blues outfit.

i love benji, but for me i dont know why the position should be even up for debate, IMO its clearly flyhalf where his skills would be better utilized, his passing game is insane and while i consider cruden the best attacking flyhalf in the country, if benji is half as good as he was with the tigers, then benji will be the best attacking flyhalf.

with ranger gone, saili will go back to his more natural roll of outside center, and this in turns paves the way for willison to get more game time at his natural spot of 12.

no offence to noakes, but he had defence issues which while it was the team at fault, it was more prominent with him.

why would u put benji at fullback after the season that piutau just had??? o_O

blues backline,,,
9 p weepu, 10 b marshall, 11 g moala, 12 j willison, 13 f saili, 14 f halai, 15 c piutau
20 b hall, 21 c noakes, 22 m mckenzie

i do love weepu and think he has a lot to offer still, but the blues also need to start phasing him out slowly, his game while physically storng, is not fast enough for even spXV level, time to give bryn hall a serious a go, not straight away but eventually.
i wouldnt be surprised if marshall finds it a little difficult to adapt with weepu, as the service he usually recieves from farah is pretty damn lightning quick.

Here is a link to an article that contains more of what Kirwan thinks on where Benji should play. Basically he is saying I have to see the guy on the field training and within two or three weeks Kirwan will know. 

www.allblacks.com/news/22956/Kirwan-Marshalls-position-obvious-early-on

The Benji Files: The switch, the challenges and his position

theblues.co.nzThe Blues

In the first of a series of exclusive video interviews with new recruit Benji Marshall, his new franchise chatted with him about the opportunity of joining the Blues, the reason he moved to rugby union, where he thinks he might fit into the backline and what the most challenging aspects of making the code switch will be.

Welcome to the Blues Benji, you must be really excited about this new opportunity?
Yes I am, first of all to get the opportunity to move home is a big thing for me, my grandfather’s still there and about six or seven of my aunties and uncles are still there so I suppose to get the chance to see family again and to move home which is something I haven’t done for 13 years is something I’m really excited about.

What made you switch to rugby union?
It’s been well documented what happened at the Tigers with contract negotiations and that sort of stuff and it’s sort of the first time that I’ve actually been able to have a reason to change to rugby union, I’ve always felt like my home was going to be at the Tigers but with all this stuff happening it’s given me this opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream of maybe representing the All Blacks.

If you want to play for the All Blacks obviously you have to play in New Zealand so that’s part of my decision and not only that, how professional the Blues were with their negotiations and what they fronted me with their vision for the next few years was a driving force on what made me make the decision

So it was their professional approach that really attracted you to the Blues?
Absolutely, the professionalism of not only the coach but at board level with Andy Dalton was a big factor. They turned up with a great presentation and showed me the future of the club over the next few years and I really think that Sir John Kirwan is such a great guy and highly respected in all the circles of rugby and not only that but just such a good guy to be around. I like surrounding myself with good people and he gave me a lot of honest truths and a lot of motivators to make me want to succeed and I think that’s important as a player and something I need.

While you have been playing rugby league, do you still keep an eye on Super Rugby and the All Blacks?
Yes I do actually. I played rugby union all my life growing up until I moved to Australia, I didn’t play league until I was 15 so I’ve always followed the All Blacks and kept track of games here and there and it’s always been great to watch. New Zealand rugby has been so successful over the years and that’s part of the reason why I want to be a part of that.

Have you thought about where you might like to feature in the Blues backline?
I don’t really want to limit myself to a certain position yet because I think it’s important for me in making the transition to learn the game, learn the rules and get in there and train in different positions and see where I fit in properly so if I had a preference it would probably be 10, 12 or 15 but until I get into training I can’t really pinpoint that position yet.

What do you think will be the most challenging aspects of switching to rugby union?
It’s definitely going to be hard work, no doubt, and it’s definitely something I’m ready for, but probably just in terms of the play the ball. With league you get up and play the ball and you get a little bit of time to get onside whereas with rugby it’s just a continual flow of rucks and mauls and instead of putting the ball between my legs I’m going to have to be turning it back and putting the ball back which is going to be a little bit different but I still remember doing that when I was playing back in my teenage years so I think with a bit of practice hopefully I can go good.

Tell us a bit about your rugby experience growing up in New Zealand
I played since I was five-years-old growing up in Whakatane and everyone’s dream in New Zealand growing up is to become an All Black. I remember, I used to love guys like Andrew Mehrtens, Justin Marshall because he had the same last name as me, Christian Cullen, Jonah Lomu was massive when I was young so I have all those memories of watching those guys play and wanting to be like those guys. That dream obviously changed a bit when I started playing rugby league and I got to represent the Kiwis which was one of the best times of my life and hopefully if I perform well enough that I can get that opportunity with the All Blacks.

I would like to see Benji at no 9, I think 10 is a bridge too far for any league convert esp in there first year, I wish the blues had signed Barret aswell... That would make an awesome 9/10 combo IMO.

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It's actually quite tricky because I think Benji would be kinda wasted at fullback and even more so on the wing and I dont think he could take the knocks in the mid field.

I was thinking scrum half would be a good position to accommodate Benji.

Damn, could have done with him at the Rebels ;-)

It doesn't matter where they play Marshall, he's not the player the Blues need, if they can't find some decent locks and some depth at the front row I can't see them doing much better next year.  Basically they have piss weak forwards.