With each knockout victory at Eden Park over the last fortnight – a relatively comfortable one over the Highlanders and a far more difficult, some would say fortuitous, one over the Brumbies last Saturday – Blues head coach Leon MacDonald has become progressively quieter when discussing the details with the media afterwards.
So who knows how he’ll react if his side beat the Crusaders in the competition showpiece on Saturday night.
MacDonald may be rendered nearly mute by the experience. Or maybe the lid will be knocked clean off and he’ll explode in scenes of unrestrained joy or frustration.
Or maybe he’ll do neither. Most likely is that he’ll smile and pay credit to the performances of both teams – individual and collective – and look forward to a quiet or perhaps loud drink in celebration or commiseration with his side and probably at some point with his old mate Scott Robertson, with whom he used to coach in Christchurch and at New Zealand Under-20 level.
MacDonald’s unflappability is a big reason why his side have earned the right to host the final and why they are narrow favourites to win it. His calm persona, combined with his attention to detail, are big pieces of a Blues puzzle that is on the verge of completion.
So is Joe Schmidt and Tom Coventry and Daniel Halangahu, his assistant coaches. So are the performances of Beauden Barrett and Stephen Perofeta; of Finlay Christie and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Rieko Ioane and Tom Robinson.
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But MacDonald is the glue that binds it all together, a champion coach in waiting, if not one already there.
He is also the introvert to Robertson’s extravert, the ice to Razor’s fire. Breakdancing on the pitch in front of a crowd and live television audience would be anathema to him; he’s more likely to ride a horse around a pitch before kick-off.
It’s another reason why this match-up is so compelling – as people the two coaches could hardly be more different.
The 44-year-old MacDonald’s voice was scratchy immediately after the 20-19 victory over the Brumbies. It sounded like he had given full vent to his emotions in the relative privacy of the coaches’ box, and it’s no wonder.
The Blues, after going up 20-7 against a game but limited Brumbies team, were cruising. Actually, given the conditions, you could say they were aquaplaning.
But they were only in control until they weren’t. Apart from the talented midfielder Irae Simone, and Nic White’s kicking, the only attacking weapon the Brumbies had was their lineout drive, as has been the case for many years.
It didn’t work in the first half, but it did big time after the break, Lachy Lonergan scoring two tries as the Blues got to grips with yellow cards for first hooker Kurt Eklund and then flanker Adrian Choat. In the end, Ofa Tuungafasi’s remarkable charge down of Noah Lolesio’s dropped goal attempt may have saved them. You can see why MacDonald may have had slightly strained vocal chords.
The Crusaders have a far more rounded attacking game and proved when shutting out the Chiefs in last weekend’s 20-7 semifinal victory in Christchurch that they have one of the best defences in the competition. Inconsistency has crept into their performances this season – they have lost three games to the Blues’ one – but they are tightening up at an opportune time.
MacDonald, who tasted success last year when leading the Blues to the trans-Tasman title, and 47-year-old Robertson, who has won a championship every year since he took over in 2017, will set the tone for their teams this week through their actions and words.
The two very different men, with very different approaches, played together for the Crusaders the last time the Blues won a final in 2003. They will be living through the same hopes and fears.
And after 14 Super Rugby Pacific games this season, and the 15th on a knife edge, one of them is about to have something to shout about.
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