Senior Blues forward Dalton Papali’i has revealed how head coach Vern Cotter set the tone for the season by writing on a whiteboard what he felt the rest of the country thought about the team’s ability to win titles.
It was, according to Papali’i, not flattering.
The loose forward wouldn’t go into details during an interview with 1News today, but the words “flaky” and “chokers” were presumably some of the milder descriptions.
“There were some pretty tough words - I won’t say it,” Papali’i said.
He added: “Just, you, know, we’re just Aucklanders, we’re townies, we don’t want to work hard, we just want the result. He [Cotter] has changed that. I think his nature has brought a bit of that old school fire to us. I think you can see it. When we’re playing well our forwards are dominating… we’re smashing people.
“A lot of New Zealand don’t think we’re up to the task, but that’s the beauty of footy - we get to prove them wrong.”
After seeing their last two title dreams ended by the Crusaders – at the semifinal stage last year and in the grand final at Eden Park in 2022 – the Blues are on track to deliver their first championship proper (not counting the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman title in 2021) since 2003.
They will face the Fijian Drua in a quarter-final at Eden Park on Saturday in the knowledge that their old nemesis the Crusaders have failed to qualify for the finals, and, while the Blues failed to finish on top of the Super Rugby Pacific table, they have proven they can beat the top seed Hurricanes this season.
Cotter's men lost only two matches all season (one of which came at the hands of the Crusaders recently) and possess a steeliness not seen since their glory days of more than two decades ago.
Their set piece is vastly improved and the pack’s mauling ability has given them a far more rounded attack.
A silver lining to their failure to secure a bonus point during their 31-17 victory over the Chiefs at the weekend, which would have given them home advantage for as long as they were in the competition, could be the banishment of complacency.
“Our mindset the whole week was to win with a bonus point,” Papali’i said.
“A lot of the boys were pretty disappointed, but Vern said ‘who cares? We’re in finals footy now. Whatever team is in front of you, you can’t change it.’ That brought a bit of life back into the team. We got the win but we’ve forgotten about that and now we’re into the Drua. It’s going to be a hell of a game.
“We know the weight that’s coming this week and we know the Drua can light it up whenever they want.”
In the other quarter-finals this weekend, the Hurricanes host the Rebels, the Brumbies will host the Highlanders and the Chiefs host the Reds.
Tune in to 1News for more on the Blues and Super Rugby Pacific at 6pm.
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