Jonny Wilkinson a red herring for Blues

By DUNCAN JOHNSTONE - Stuff.co.nz

Last updated 11:41 14/10/2009

RED HERRING: Pat Lam is still looking at Stephen Brett's at 10, but Jonny Wilkinson and Juan Martin Hernandez were not approached by the Blues.

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Pat Lam says All Blacks Tony Woodcock and Anthony Boric will play for the Blues next year.

However, the coach was coy on Stephen Brett's prospects other than clarifying that international stars Jonny Wilkinson or Juan Martin Hernandez weren't approached to solve the problem No 10 position.

There has been no lack of speculation about comings and goings within the Blues ranks as deadlines creep up.

Provincial transfers close on Friday and the draft process will need to be worked on for the five Super 14 franchises before the squads are revealed on November 11.

Talk has swirled around All Blacks tight forwards Woodcock and Boric being vulnerable as North Harbour question their value. They had been linked to a shift to Waikato to realign with the Chiefs.

Lam, fronting media in Auckland today, emphasised the two key forwards would still be part of his mix.

He revealed a list of quality players who he said were coming off contract with their Blues provinces but would be in his squad.

He also confirmed that Wellington halfback Alby Mathewson would play for the Blues which was "great news".

"The other biggest news for us is Tony Woodcock, Anthony Boric, Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu, Isaia Toeava, Kurtis Hiau and Joe Rokocoko, plus some of the younger boys like Rene Ranger, Chris Lowrey and Peter Saili are all committing and wanting to stay here.

"There have been some pretty tempting offers for them but they all wanted to stay.

"That's a testament to the guys that have been in this environment and to reinforce what we are trying to do here.

"As far as the rest goes, we just keeping working to that November deadline."

That included Brett, the Canterbury and Crusaders utility who appears certain to be heading to Eden Park as the squeeze goes on in Christchurch where Dan Carter reigns supreme and Colin Slade has leapfrogged Brett in the All Blacks' thinking.

"Stephen has signed with Canterbury (for the Air New Zealand Cup). We will work through that and continue on our process. It's probably not appropriate to talk about it as we go through it," said Lam.

Lam then went to some lengths to clear up speculation that Wilkinson, the England star now playing for Tana Umaga's Toulon side in France, and Hernandez, the Pumas playmaker now based in Durban, were being sought for the Blues next year.

Lam said he and Wilkinson were "good mates" from their playing days at Newcastle and while they had discussed him playing here in the past they had never talked about 2010.

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"I spoke to him two years ago because he wanted to come and play some rugby down under. He couldn't get out of his contract with Newcastle back then. Then he had the big injury and we haven't spoken again about it. But it keeps coming up.

"As for Hernandez ... if he was standing here amongst you I wouldn't even know who he was."

Lam said there had been no approaches to Hernandez "but it has been humorous reading about it".

He conceded No 10 was a major consideration and when asked about the quality of players in that position within his own franchise boundaries he questioned the experience levels.

"There is a lot of talent but at the end of the day at this level of the game, it all comes back to experience, being in that cauldron and being used to driving it (the team).

"The key is experience. In that position you need experience, guys that have been playing there for a while."

Brett, with three years of Super rugby behind and time with the Junior All Blacks, appears to have that. He has served his apprenticeship and in the absence of the injured Carter this year he guided the Crusaders to the semifinals.

His defensive game continues to be questioned and his goalkicking is prone to inconsistencies but he is a free-wheeling player who could be well suited to the Blues' approach.

"The key is whether it's him (Brett) or it's someone else, it's more about the navigation, the driving of the team.

Any successful team, and you just have to look at the winners of the competition, eight nine and 10 drive the team around. Certainly that's what we are looking for."

Lam said he was confident the Blues squad would be strong.