Strachan questions impact of senior Blues players

One of the Blues own has had enough.

Auckland Rugby high performance manager Ant Strachan is questioning the effect some of the senior players are having on the squad.

Strachan says when he was manager of the Blues, lock Ali Williams was one player whose Super Rugby contribution was nowhere near what he contributed to the All Blacks.

"That just used to frustrate the crap out of me, It's like saying 'I know you're different but just for this little period we need you to be rock solid, to be part of the team', you don't have to have a funny haircut or a different pair of boots, just be part of this team because we need it."

Strachan has also questioned how much research was done on Ma'a Nonu and Piri Weepu's influence on the Hurricanes squad, before they came to the Blues.

Strachan says Weepu should never have been allowed to join the squad in such bad shape, while Nonu's influence over some of the younger players is questionable.

He says the two former Hurricanes may have brought some bad bad habits north to Auckland.

"Both Piri and Ma'a are iconic in New Zealand and they came out of a Wellington system where they contributed greatly to that program but they were let go from there and have we really spent time discussing with Mark Hammett, with people in Wellington about the reasons why?"

Photo: Photosport