Former league coach Graham Lowe believes it is time for Kirwan to go © Getty Images

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Former Manly Sea Eagles and New Zealand rugby league coach Graham Lowe believes Sir John Kirwan should resign as Blues coach, writing a stinging opinion piece for the New Zealand Herald in which he suggests "Kirwan has been badly let down by some of his rugby mates, who shouldn't allow a former great player to suffer the humiliation that is unfolding".

Kirwan is under increasing pressure at the Blues, who are bottom of the Super Rugby ladder after five consecutive losses in 2015 and who have a 13-24 win-loss record in Super Rugby with him at the reins. Greg Growden wrote for ESPN last week that the time was up for both Kirwan and Reds coach Richard Graham, saying they were both "lame ducks", and another loss for the Auckland-based franchise, to the undefeated Hurricanes, will have done little to open the valve on the All Blacks legend - even though the team produced an improved performance. Indeed, that improved performance, might be all that has saved Kirwan given that ESPN columnist Craig Dowd, the former All Blacks prop, wrote last week that the Blues needed an "attitude adjustment".

"Failure to deliver on intentions does not make a coach a villain," Dowd wrote. "Coaches don't set out to lose. They can't play the game for the players, and they can't account for injuries, refereeing decisions or the weather - all of which can impact on a team. But the coach can instil two key elements into a side: environment and attitude. Getting this right is a recipe for success. Get it wrong and failure will certainly follow regardless of the talent at hand. Attitude counts for plenty, and the Blues' attitude in their loss to the Lions ... came into question."

Lowe, a league coaching legend and now a well-know sports pundit in New Zealand, who knows a bit about performing under pressure, both as a coach and as an administrator, wrote in his column for New Zealand Herald that Kirwan's "enthusiasm to do well is undeniable, but I suspect that, like many, he has fallen into the trap of thinking coaching is a science".

"It's not! It's an art. You can either do it or you can't."

Lowe wrote that he was "a proud member of the coaches union which transcends all sports" and hence had decided to pun his column because "I see nothing but grief ahead for him if he stays on in the Blues job".

"His plight reminds me of a whale that has beached itself and is slowly running out of life. In such a case, volunteers always swarm to the beach to try and rescue the distressed mammal. Sadly, I don't see that help coming to the Blues coach, and for the life of me, I don't understand why.

"Let's be honest here. There shouldn't be another Super 15 team that can come within a bull's roar of the Blues, such is the strength of their resources. I say that with due respect to the blokes who wear red-and-black down south. But there is something wrong and has been for a while. Certainly, I haven't seen anything to get excited about during JK's reign."

Lowe suggested the Blues didn't have to look far in order to find a replacement for Kirwan, saying "there is one beacon that stands out for me".

Lowe said that Tana Umaga has "what it takes to become a top coach at any level of any sport".

Umaga, the former Hurricanes and All Blacks star, currently coaches Counties Manukau in New Zealand's ITM Cup competition. He joined the Steelers as a player-coach in 2010, and was appointed head coach in December 2011. In 2013, after 24 unsuccessful Ranfurly Shield challenges, the Umaga coached team won the Log o' Wood for the first time in their history, and Lowe said that he "could be the man to lead the Blues to the glory".

Lowe believes Tana Umaga would be the best replacement for the Blues © Getty Images

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