Blues fans may feel they have heard it all before, but maybe now despite having suffered another terrible season, they really are on the cusp of a better future now that Beauden Barrett has committed to the club.
It was a season that began with more hope than usual following the decision late in 2018 to change the coaching set-up, a surprise move which came about due to a major change in ownership and governance.
The last few months of the year were a strange and turbulent time at the club, but somehow, by December, the Blues had arrived in a good place.
It was hard to keep up with and follow the chain of events that led to the club having a major coaching re-shuffle just weeks after announcing head coach Tana Umaga had been re-appointed for another year.
To surmise, what happened was that the Blues board had decided in August to extend Umaga’s contract by one year.
They also let him appoint the highly regarded Leon MacDonald as his assistant. But in September, New Zealand Rugby managed to persuade major shareholder Murray Bolton to sell his near 50 per cent stake in the club.
After buying it back the governing body then placed three of its own candidates on the board and oversaw the appointment of the experienced Don Mackinnon as chairman to give the Blues the functioning governance they hadn’t had since private equity was sought in 2012.
The new board received the review of Umaga’s performance and decided they couldn’t honour the agreement to give him another year.
Potentially this could have been a legal minefield, but chief executive Michael Redman was able to persuade Umaga to stay on as defence coach, while MacDonald and the other newly appointed assistant, Tom Coventry, were asked to apply for the head job.
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The 20 Most Memorable Rugby Acts Of 2020
2020- Most Amazing Rugby Acts
RUGBY ROYALTY
FRANS STEYNâS IMPACT AT LAST YEARâS WORLD CUP ADDED MORE PRESTIGE TO A DECORATED CAREER THAT ISNâT OVER YET. CRAIG LEWIS FROM SA RUGBY MAGAZINE REPORTS.
WINGING IT FOR LONGER
TYPICALLY POWER WINGS DON'T LAST LONG IN THE ALL BLACKS. BUT CALEB CLARKE AND RIEKO IOANE ARE HOPING TO BUCK THE TREND.
TOUGHEST JOB IN THE WORLD
NZ RUGBY WORLD EDITOR GREGOR PAUL HAS A NEW BOOK OUT CALLED THE CAPTAIN'S RUN. IN IT HE EXPLORES WHAT IT TAKES TO LEAD THE WORLD'S BEST RUGBY TEAM, HOW THE JOB HAS CHANGED AND HOW THE VARIOUS LEADERS HAVE DEALT WITH PRESSURE, FAILURE AND SUCCESS.
WOW FACTOR
SCOTT ROBERTSON IS UNORTHODOX BUT HE'S ALSO BRILLIANT AND WANTS A JOB WITH THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS.
RUGBY REBORN
COVID BROUGHT ECONOMIC CARNAGE IN 2020 BUT RATHER THAN BEING SEEN AS A WRECKER OF FORTUNES, THE PANDEMIC WAS ACTUALLY A GIANT BLESSING.
BATTLE FOR THE BLEDISLOE
THE UNPRECEDENTED CONDITIONS OF 2020 SAW THE INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR HASTILY REDRAWN AND IN A UNIQUE TWIST FOR THE PROFESSIONAL AGE, THE ALL BLACKS PLAYED FOUR CONSECUTIVE TESTS AGAINST AUSTRALIA.
PACIFIC POWER HOUSE
FIJI HAVE NEVER QUITE BEEN ABLE TO FULFIL THEIR ENORMOUS POTENTIAL. BUT THEY MIGHT NOW FOLLOWING THE APPOINTMENT OF VERN COTTER AS HEAD COACH.
THE PEOPLE'S CHAMPION
ON AND OFF THE FIELD, SPRINGBOKS WING CHESLIN KOLBE CONTINUES TO MAKE AN INSPIRATIONAL IMPACT.
DEFENCE FORCE ONE
THE BLUES WERE A RADICALLY DIFFERENT TEAM IN 2020 AND MUCH OF THAT WAS DUE TO THEIR VASTLY IMPROVED WORK ON DEFENCE.