As a former head coach of Scotland and Fiji, experienced Blues head coach Vern Cotter knows the danger of making expansive predictions at the start of a season.
Add the Blues’ traditional unpredictability into the mix and it’s probably a wise decision. But — at his side’s final training for the week at their Auckland base today ahead of their round-one match against the Fijian Drua in Whangārei — he did concede it was likely the Blues would “give ourselves a big uppercut” at some point.
The phlegmatic Cotter, who has taken over from Leon MacDonald (now with the All Blacks), also stressed the imperative of making the final three weeks of a long season in the best shape possible.
There is a sense following the well-documented changes at the Crusaders that this may be the most open Super Rugby season in years but Cotter isn’t buying into that.
“You’ve just got to get stuck in and see how you go,” he said. “There will be games that you think you should win and you don’t… at the end of the day, it will come down to the last three weeks.
“You have to get yourself there, so we’re fully focused on getting to those last three.
“I know, from experience, there will be moments when we’ll give ourselves a big uppercut… it’s a fluid, moving motion.
“Just as long as we’ve got the energy there and everybody’s up — and everyone has impressed me so far — I think there’s a bit of ambition in the group. We’ll take the good times and the bad and try to go as far as we can.”
There has already been significant change at the Blues this year, with Tony Brown brought in on a part-time basis to help with the team’s attack after Jason O’Halloran’s medical leave due to diabetes. Skipper Patrick Tuipulotu has been ruled out in the short term due to a broken jaw suffered in pre-season.
It means Josh Beehre, 21, will make his debut at this level by starting against the Drua alongside Sam Darry in the second row, with former Japan coach (and future Springboks assistant) Brown adding his expertise at the start of the week.
“I haven’t worked with him before but I’ve spoken to him around the game,” Cotter said, of Brown. “He’s got a sharp eye for things and helps players and offers us a perspective that perhaps we haven’t looked at.
“It’s nice to get his point of view and his experiences in Japan and how he’s worked with different styles of players. He enjoys a beer as well.”
Cotter’s game drivers – first-five Stephen Perofeta and fullback Zarn Sullivan – will be expected to dictate the pace on Saturday but beyond that, Cotter was keeping an open mind.
“I don’t know how they [Drua] are going to play. I don’t know what their plan is. I know Glen Jackson very well and he’s a good coach.
“I know the individuals [as former Fiji coach], I know they have certain traits they’ll look to go to. We’ve just got to be ready for anything and that’s the key to rugby these days – keep your head up, take in the information and get yourself around the paddock.
“It’s about performance. We don’t expect everything to be right but we’ve got certain things we want to put in place. We feel like we’ve got a good team.”
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