Struggling Blues target good run home

The Blues are looking to give their forgettable Super Rugby season some late gloss by taking advantage of being at home for their last four matches.

The Blues may be playing out another Super Rugby season without finals football, but they can provide nuisance value in a run home that has them camped at Eden Park.

Their last four matches are against the Bulls on Friday night, the Hurricanes, the Crusaders and the Highlanders.

The Bulls, competition leaders the Hurricanes and Highlanders all sit in the top six, while the ninth-placed Crusaders still have a solid chance of making the post-season for a remarkable 14th successive year.

However, Blues coach Sir John Kirwan says his team will be concentrating on themselves.

"We're at home, we love playing at home and it's important we perform at home," he said.

"We don't have the play-offs to play for but we can certainly play for the future and protecting our home, and that's our goal this week."

The Blues have managed just two wins in 2015, both at Eden Park, to languish in 13th place, and Kirwan's future at the franchise has become an ongoing saga.

He comes off contract at the end of the season and, despite critics pointing to the lack of results in his three years in charge, he is eager to stay on.

One bright note for the Blues has been the performance of rookie loose forward Akira Ioane.

The 19-year-old has been a standout in his handful of appearances and some pundits have even rated him as a possible bolter for the All Blacks.

Kirwan said Ioane - selected in the New Zealand side for the Under-20 World Cup in Italy in June - hadn't been intimidated by the step-up to Super Rugby.

But Kirwan believed it was too early to talk about Test football.

"He's in the under-20s and I think he should tick that box first," he said.

"You can't let yourself get ahead of yourself.

"You need to make sure you just concentrate on doing what he has been doing the last couple of weeks - playing well, tackling well, running hard with the ball - and don't worry about what's ahead."


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Source: AAP


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