Can the Blues Keep It Up?

Frank Halai has been a revelation this season

It's only round 3 and the Blues have only played 2 games this season.

But they've won those games and won them quite convincingly too against the likes of the Hurricanes and Crusaders; sides that were expected to fly the flag for New Zealand in Super Rugby this season. Given their form last season, this has been some turnaround for a franchise that has failed to deliver since their last title in 2003.

So the question now is whether the Blues can sustain this form and make a surprise challenge thanks to their revival under Auckland rugby legends John Kirwan and Graham Henry?

If only the Super Rugby season ended today, the Blues would possibly be champions given the excellent shape and form of their forwards which has given their talented backs room to exploit with aplomb. But as we all know, Super Rugby is long drawn out campaign and it would be a huge ask for the Blues forwards to maintain this form until August.

In fact, one could say that having such a tough start in the toughest conference in Super Rugby could end up being the undoing of the Blues later in the season. The Crusaders as we saw last night have often shown to be masters of timing in the past and last night's loss shouldn't really be taken as a crisis point as it is still too early for their usual surge towards the playoffs.

Nevertheless, this appears to be a different Blues team from the one Pat Lam coached and there is quite a bit of youth in the side - meaning a run not dissimilar to the Hurricanes last season is definitely possible. Steven Luatua, Francis Sai'ili, Charles Piutau and Frank Halai are this year's breakout boys so far. Whether they can maintain that form and possibly earn a black jersey remains to be seen but their potential is quite clear to see.

Furthermore, they do have Graham Henry as technical adviser now and who better to get this young side through the rigours of a long season of professional rugby. New Zealand's most successful coach is the best person to help a side out from that inevitable mid-season form slump.

So Auckland rugby and the Blues appear to be back. But will this comeback continue to burn till August or will it fizzle out just before the end like so many Blues comebacks in recent times?