Craig Dowd
Week off won't affect Hurricanes' desire
Craig Dowd
June 17, 2015
The Hurricanes are perfectly placed to lift their first Super Rugby crown © Getty Images
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The Hurricanes demonstrated in their win over the Chiefs that they are ready for the step up to play-offs rugby. They've proved the desire is inside them and they showed they will be a tough side to knock over.

They've been the form team all year and they've got a well deserved week off. There is some debate about the value of the long competition. It's good to refresh the bodies after such a long regular season, although sometimes once you get on a run you want to keep going.

A break can be a negative, and if you have a week off when guys are just hitting their form it could be an issue because they want to keep going and playing well. But in saying that, you look at where the Hurricanes have been; Beauden Barrett could probably do with that little bit of extra time to come right. They've said he's close; he'll be able to get his body right for the semi-final. And it's worth remembering that the two teams in the quarter-finals are going to beat themselves up even more.

What has impressed me about the Hurricanes is that even in Barrett's absence they have still played well. James Marshall and, in fact, both Marshall boys, played really well on Saturday. But James took his opportunity and really stepped up and made the most of when Tom got sin-binned.

Blues have some big decisions to make

Going back to the Blues game on Friday; it was a reminder that in rugby you are remembered for your last games. The fans go away remembering what they last saw, and a hiding is what the Blues fans will have as their memory. We were hearing comment all year that the team was only just losing. But they weren't improving, and the heavy loss was a sad way to say goodbye to Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock. It was a sad end for what the Blues must take on the chin as their worst season ever.

Keven Mealamu was forced to endure a tough Blues farewell in Auckland © Getty Images
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Now is the time for hard decisions to be made and I think the Blues board need to think long and hard about what the right decisions are and not have a knee-jerk reaction. There are players being signed within New Zealand rugby, all over the show, committing to franchises. And if you go below the top 50 players in New Zealand, I'm sure they are all committed to where they are playing in their futures. If you don't have someone who is steering the ship and being able to make those calls, then you are going to miss out on a lot of players and things aren't going to get better.

No need for alarm in Christchurch

While the Crusaders are not involved in the play-offs, I think we have been saying it all year that we shouldn't worry about the form of their senior pros because at the right time of the season they will step up. And while that is a bit late for the Crusaders, they came within one point - a solitary bonus point - of reaching the play-offs. They even finished higher than the Stormers. Let's not forget that the best South African team was still below the fourth New Zealand team on the ladder, and the competition needs to look at itself with that in mind. It's a bit PC the way it is all structured.

South Africa at the moment are just making up the numbers in Super Rugby. You would have to wonder if their hearts are in it with the whole travel thing. I would be very nervous about the long-term South African involvement. Surely they can't enjoy being involved in a competition where they have few winners to back up all the travel they do.

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