The Blues and Crusaders will have to win the Super Rugby title the hard way but Blues coach Pat Lam doesn’t see that as a bad thing in a World Cup year.
There are no second lives for either New Zealand side under the extended six-team playoffs system.
The fourth-placed Blues host the Waratahs at Eden Park on Friday night and the third-placed Crusaders play the Sharks in Nelson on Saturday night. If they win those, semifinal trips to Australia and South Africa beckon.
Lam suggested winning three knockout matches was “a mini-World Cup” scenario confronting the Kiwis. Playing under that sort of pressure would only help New Zealand’s top talent with the real World Cup around the corner.
It was a chance to operate under the pressure of elimination, something critics and the rugby public point out as a weakness of the New Zealand game, though the Crusaders might beg to differ.
“This is great for the Crusaders and the Blues, but not only for our teams and our players but also for New Zealand rugby,” Lam said.
“People are saying we have to be used to playing this sort of rugby. Obviously both teams have players who are going to feature highly in the big tournament later on so it’s all good if we can deal with this pressure now.”
Lam said there were associated pressures with knockout rugby but he didn’t anticipate changing systems from the ones that had got the Blues this far.
While he was taking a “one game at a time” approach, he was also aware the Blues couldn’t afford to go into their shell.
“It’s win or lose now but nothing changes with preparation – it’s just the Waratahs and what we need to do. They come here on the back of some very good form, particularly last weekend [against the Brumbies].
“We have to make sure we front up and fire some shots. During our losses we identified that was a real issue for us.”
Blues utility Luke McAlister emphasised that attitude as well. Clearly these Blues don’t want to be left with any what-ifs, no matter what happens at Eden Park.
“I just think you have to go all-out, you can’t leave any stone unturned. You have to play attacking rugby, play a good brand, play to your strengths and go hard really,” McAlister said, admitting his only knockout rugby experience was the World Cup quarterfinal exit in Cardiff four years ago.
The Blues will also need to be mindful that a reined-in approach has also been at the heart of their improvement this year.