Blues vs Landers game

Blues having a hard time of it again You have to feel sorry for them, they had most of the possession for most of the first half but just can't get enough points.

34-16 in the end. Gotta feel sorry for the Blues. So many injuries. Blues had 70% possession in 2nd half . With all that ball. You got to wonder why they can't accumulate that into points. 

Cloudy

I watched all the Blues games this year and have noticed some deficiencies in the team performances - which frequently cost them dearly,   Those are -

*   handling errors during critical times in the games - often enough after brilliant preceding moves; and

*   the tendency to overuse specific players whom they regard (and many of us think the same)  and they try to get the balls to them and expect them to perform miracles.

The opposing teams have identified  and concentrate their defensive mechanisms accordingly.   That is the reason why SBW imploded when he was out-played by De Allende in the recet Blues Stormers game.   That is a similar strategy to what the Waratahs tried against the Lions and they neutralized Naiyaravoro completely and he flopped badly,   Problem is if that does not work there is really no plan B in the case of the Blues.

The only other problem with the team is that they do not have enough physical strength in their Tight 5.

Despite the above I think that  with minor improvements the team can still be a force in Super Rugby.            

...notsoclevermike Auckland is the rugby league capital of NZ ... and the more the Blues lose the stronger the league code is becoming...some say at the moment they are leaving the door wide open for rugby league to flourish...

but hampering the Blues progress could be the new conference structure with more NZ derbies where the Blues face some of the best rugby teams in the universe on a regular basis i.e the Mighty Chiefs etc...so it takes a Herculean effort to excel in the NZ conference as opposed to yr soft one..

but occasionaly the Blues will hit one out of the ballpark like they did against the Lions at Ellis Park...conversely like last year againt the Sunwolves they won't show up at all...they definitely struggle with consistency and are also currently hamstrung by a multitude of injuries to key players for which they are lacking enough depth to compensate for...i don't think they have the same die hard culture the other franchises have either for some reason whether it's from the city living, too laid back or fitness levels lacking it's hard to put a finger on it..

...JW, beating the British and Irish Lions last year and the Emirates Lions this year might indicate they're capable of beating any team on their day..

 But looking a bit closer at yesterdayss Blue's squad it was a very young squad of ring ins that turned out and with youth comes inexperience ..

FB  Perofata   21 yrs

W  R Iaone    21 yrs

C   Leger        21yrs

C    Faiane      22yrs

FH Gatland     22yrs

HB  Nock        21yrs

No8  A Iaone   22yrs 

FL   Papa'ili      20yrs

R Apisai            22yrs

and then another 8  X 25 yr olds..Averages at about 23yrs so just rookies

Good stats Brycy but it wasn't just their performance in the game today, it's a long standing problem and not always associated with young players. 

"Relocate the Blues to Invercargil and see if that hardens them up."

Better still.....Palmerston North??? 

There were flashes of brilliance in attack by the Blues, think they need to do little things right and also work a lot harder on their defence. There needs to be that commitment.

...Mozart where did i mention the coach ...and for someone constantly telling everyone the value of older players you've done the greatest flip flop of all time...

Brycy

You have a point with regard to the age  factor is concerned.   Start building up a squad and in another two  to three years experience will cut out most of the problems that is impacting on performance at present.   I am a firm believer in developing squads on that basis, 

In the process the aging other teams will start showing decline.  Too many other teams are struggling with aging players subject to strings of injuries and that will not improve in future.  

Anyway - the NZ teams are not necessarily the strongest in the world as stated by you - they too often needs ref assistance to win games and that should bother you.      

Yup, the new Rake series will chase away the Blues as will the new West world series.