The Blues have evolved in his tenure: They are a better side now than they were in But while they have improved, they have mot improved enough and the realisation is beginning to dawn that they may have hit their ceiling: He's taken them from bottom of the table to mid-table, but might that be as far as the journey goes?
Tiger Bay Blues
It's early in the season to be so gloomy, and also with both Rieko and Akira Ioane in promising form, it seems ill-advised to condemn the Blues to be without hope. But the concern is not that the Blues lack for talent or game breakers. They have, unlike previous Blues regimes, managed to select mostly the right group and it is one with an array of skills and genuine attributes. The fundamental issue restricting their growth is their inability to make good decisions and this is not a problem that has suddenly arisen in the first two games of A failure to be ruthless and clinical — particularly in the final quarter — hampered the Blues for much of last season.
They get it right some of the time, but not all of the time, and those lapses, those casual moments such as Melani Nanai flinging the ball to no one as he did on Friday night which led to a Chiefs' runaway try, are proving to be endemic. Against the Chiefs, just as they did the week before in Dunedin, the Blues imploded mid-way through the second half. They made supremely basic mistakes both in their option-taking and execution which, in both games, saw them concede 14 points in five minutes. What will have hurt Umaga the most about this weekend, though, was that his side couldn't find the killer instinct against a team that was initially selected with 15 players unavailable due to injury, before losing another two before kickoff.
The Chiefs were vulnerable and yet they stiffened their resolve and won the big moments and as Umaga fronted after the game, it was clear that his patience had been tested, that his frustration is rising and that he must be wondering what it will take to instil in his players the right sort of mentality required to regularly win the toughest games. We had enough opportunities to win but we just didn't take them. That is something that we need to look at.
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As you saw, there were a lot of Chiefs players who put their hands up. That is something we have been working hard on.
Byron Bay Bluesfest -
You saw bits of it last week and bits of it in the first and second half. Again it is just that ability to put it all together. There was a weariness to the way Umaga spoke — a near apologetic tone that was mixed with dismay that there he was again pin-pointing the same old problem as the reason his team had lost. There may also have been, for the first time in his tenure, a hint of distress that he could see a future where the narrative doesn't change and that he may, despite the progress made and the endless hours of hard work, have weeks, possibly months, of this repeat failing to endure.
Anti-Auckland sentiment is alive and well and so no doubt another poor season from the Blues will be cheered to the rafters in the provinces.
But those who relish the demise of the Blues should be careful, for it remains the hand that feeds them. New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew was at pains to stress in revealing record revenue and profit during the week, that Auckland is the gateway to all funding. If the Blues succeed, New Zealand is in a stronger place economically: As Tew said about crowd numbers: You get decent crowds at Eden Park that will boost the numbers. If the likes of the Crusaders and Chiefs want to continue to have the funds to poach the best young talent from Auckland, they need the country's largest city to generate the income that is then dispersed.
Of course Les finds trouble within a few hours of arriving and hands out a violent lesson to some rude fishermen in the first pub he visits. Unfortunately the fishermen have a friend with a bad reputation, and he is now baying for blood.
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In the me Les Norton is back in this his 16th adventure and what a great cover! In the meantime Les meets Amazing Grace, becomes acquainted with a ghost, travels back in time after a magic mushroom trip and uncovers a cocaine smuggling drug ring. I am not sure what has happened to Les. I have previously enjoyed Barrett's humour and the scrapes that Les gets himself into.
But this one just didn't live up to expectations. The start of the book was hard to follow, with random references to events that occurred in the previous Norton adventure.
- The Little Book of Green Minutes.
- Saturday, November 4, 2017.
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Having not read the previous title, I was at a loss. This coupled with the author's note alluding to Les's participation in a date rape means I won't bother either. And it was generally downhill from there. And the less said about the padded magic mushroom trip the better. The old adage of 'never judge a book by it's cover' can be applied to this book. Admire the cover, and move along. Oct 26, Graeme rated it it was amazing. Definitely a real Aussie Larakin!
Probably the book I have enjoyed the most so far from Robert G. Nov 03, Holly Bradbury rated it liked it. An absolute trip down memory lane. Fascinating reading about my childhood yearly family holiday in such an adult way. May 06, David rated it it was ok Shelves: Corny entertainment for blokes, where the all conquering hero, Les Norton, can do no wrong.
A bit of light reading fun. Kim rated it really liked it Sep 26, Fran Cosgrove rated it liked it Jan 30, Joshua Madden rated it it was amazing Dec 04, Patrick Hastings rated it it was amazing Sep 03, Chris rated it really liked it Mar 12, Robyn Begg rated it it was amazing Jan 15, Patrick Robinson rated it really liked it Mar 21, Heath Churchland rated it it was amazing Oct 02, Alistair rated it really liked it Feb 06, Dave rated it liked it Jul 01, Mollie rated it it was amazing Mar 09, Michael Gallas rated it it was amazing Nov 06, Shayne Foster rated it really liked it Feb 21, Cyber rated it it was amazing Jun 27, Michael rated it did not like it Apr 11, Ruggo rated it liked it Jan 09,