Marshall poised for first Blues outing

Pre season match today Hurricanes v Blues: Benji Marshall made a pleasing Super Rugby debut for the Blues, but couldn't prevent his side from losing 38-35 to the Hurricanes at Memorial Park in Masterton today. A sell out crowd of 6000 were treated to an entertaining match with a total of 11 tries with the home side stealing the result with a late try to lock James Broadhurst. However, it was the Blues' code-switching first five-eighth who most had come to watch and he passed his first test, if not with flying colours, then certainly with enough poise to suggest there is better to come. In his first fully competitive rugby union match since he was 17, Marshall kicked off after being told he'd be doing the restarts just before running onto the field. He stood a tad deep early on as he kept a close eye on charging Hurricanes openside Ardie Savea, had an early dart, passed players into gaps and seemed to grow in confidence as the match went on. There was an awkward ruck clean-out and a welcome to rugby crunch when Savea read his trademark sidestep like a book. But on the whole Marshall was solid, he talked well and seemed to read the direction of play and looked like he was enjoying himself. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/9675339/Benji-Marshall-off-to-a-solid-start-with-Blues

Chose to pass more often than not....kirwan was apparently impressed and said he will start there again for the next game. Call me a pesimist...probably the only time we beat the blues this year...as usual not expecting much from my eternal under achievers. Hurricanes in name...light airs in game.

Blues lost 38-35 to Hurricanes in the trial at Masterton. Soldout crowd to see Benji. Set up some breaks, goodon attack tentative at the ruck a little and got nailed by Savea when doing his trademark sidestep apparently. Aust, Scot, Spanish, Kenyan and Portugese teams also present to see Sumo Sevens, a sevens game between two teams where each player had to weigh AT LEAST 105kgs!! That all I got!!

Good luck bro, nau mai haere mai!

When he came over to OZ Benji attended my alma mater (knee bra park SHS) and was taught the intricacies of RL Aussy style. With his exceptional raw talent and great coaching he became a star. In his last few seasons at the Tigers he has struggled with injuries etc and to some extent became a one trick pony with cross field running & second man plays - not to great effect. IMO his biggest struggle in S15 will be taking 'continuous' contact in the tackle/ruck area where his relatively fragile body may be shown up (see his string of shoulder & other injuries in the last few years). As P Weepu said the other day his other issue is learning to straighten his lines in attack and not do the NRL crab. I'm not writing him off as he is a class sportsman and guy however my gut tells me he will be targeted ruthlessly by some mean loosies and will be injured for much of the year. Good luck Benji. AB though is a pipe dream.

I think Benji's biggest challenge will be trying to unlock rugby's defensive patterns. Perhaps if he's counter-attacking from fullback, the defensive pattern might more closely resemble league because both sides of the field are available to the attacker, but at 10, the momentum of play usually dictates the location of the next phase and you have defenders coming at you from multiple angles. How he adapts to that big difference will be interesting. Maa Nonu will also be important for his success - if he decides he wants to help Benji, then he should play more as a crash ball runner (to take advantage of Benji's passing ability) but if he decides that he wants to be more of a play-maker (as he has become in previous years) then it could cause all sorts of problems.

Benji will adjust to the game well in terms of play making and running plays. The thing he might struggle with is ruck time. He needs to man up and not shy away from the contact at the breakdown, and needs to carry to the line with confidence, not like he is carrying a hot potato once he hits the wall of forwards.

Just looked bigger than I thought. Impressive actually, especially how he moves. I'd like to see his weight now, compared to his last game in 5 tackle kick. The strength and conditioning at the Blues is a major factor. I saw Rene Ranger after the new regime same time last year, and was a ton bigger. And I predicted he was going to explode.... and he did. Not body builder big. Explosive big.

go benji takes a lot of courage to take on this kind of challenge so really putting his reputation on the line

Bugger! :(

Mike, I was also struck by how big John Eales was when I met him. But that didn't make him a current super or.test player. Is he 26 or 28? There's a big difference in a pro footy players' career calendar. But I also am looking forward to see how he goes. And I hope he goes well - if only to test Tane's theory that playing RU is like riding a bike.

Saw him running the backline and he looked incredible. Look, everything is new and exciting, he is fresh, new challenges, best coaches in the world, strength and conditioning, in NZ and he's only 28. He will be outstanding. He walked into my work the other day, and we were all shocked at how big he is. My pick, will light the super on fire

I bet he doesnt struggle.

He is not really a league convert. He is a union player that was scouted, played league and has now returned. He represented NZ at U16 level in union. He will succeed and I wouldnt be surprised to see him make the ABs at some stage. Imo it will be like riding a bike.

I think you guys are underestimating his combination with Weepu, Benji will struggle but he and Weepu have played more than a few touch footy games in Whakatane during the off-season in recent years so they have some sort of combination there. It just needs to gell.

@ Gatesy : JK will need all hands on deck , now that NONU is decrlared recovering from surgery and would be unavailable for few matches. with so much speed on the wings all BM needs to do is learn to pass :)

Fingers crossed, it's either him or Noakes at 1st5 for the blues and neither fills me with confidence. Lock and 1st5 are the Blues achilles heels

I dont think the all blacks (or auckland)would allow him to stand on the wing when in defence and let others do his tackeling like in Nrl.

Yeah he would have been awesome 2 years ago but left it a bit late, but cant wait to watch him . Good luck Benji, hope he has a great season and proves us all wrong.

He has an amazing skill set, which will hopefully resurface this year. His left and right hand pass are quality, his ability to create opportunity in limited space is proven and while his defence can be inconsistent, there's plenty in both codes that aren't exactly big hitters. I think his greatest challenge will be kicking in general play, where he'll be under a deal more pressure than when with the Tigers. Looking forward to seeing him play,will always be Tigers legend