PAUL TITO VOWS TO KICK-START CARDIFF BLUES' SEASON
Just over six months ago, on a warm April afternoon at Twickenham, skipper Paul Tito proudly held aloft Cardiff Blues’ first ever trophy after the second-row and his team-mates had torn Guinness Premiership giants Gloucester to shreds in the EDF Energy Cup Final by playing fluid, jaw-dropping rugby.
Their 50-12 crowning victory in the Anglo-Welsh competition was certainly one in the eye for England – and a fortnight later Tito’s team almost toppled the European hegemony, too, but they were cruelly defeated in the Heineken Cup semi-final by Leicester Tigers.
The big 31-year-old, who was forced to withdraw after only ten minutes at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, could barely watch as the Blues forced the two-time winners to a sudden-death penalty shoot out when the scores were tied at 26 after extra time. When Wales flanker Martyn Williams hooked his effort wide Leicester No8 Jordan Crane successfully dropped his kick to drag the Tigers through to the final at Murrayfield.
Regardless, Tito, in his first season as captain, hailed the Blues’ achievements – the first silverware for the Welsh region, formed in 2003, and a best-ever finish in Europe’s premium cup competition. It was, in short, what the flame-haired Kiwi labels “a dream year”.
However, rather than building on last season’s success the Blues have endured a nightmare start to this campaign, which kicked off in early September. Despite being one of the most eye-catching sides in European rugby last term and boasting a new, state-of-the-art £48m (105m NZD) home venue, Dai Young’s troops lost four out of their first five games; their solitary success was a 19-15 win over the poor Llanelli Scarlets at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Tito was carried off with a head injury in Cardiff’s Heineken Cup Pool 5 opener in early October – a 20-6 win over troubled London Harlequins – and consequently missed out on the 27-26 defeat to Sale Sharks the following week. Though he is clueless as to why his Blues have failed to click so far this season, but determined to lead from the front and right their faltering campaign.
“It is tricky to work out what is going wrong – none of us can put our finger on it at the moment,” admits Tito, who joined the Blues from Taranaki in the summer of 2007. “It was a hell of a season, a dream year, last season, but it means nothing for this year. We picked up a good win against Quins but we stumbled against Sale and we will have to push on again now.
“We have lost a few personnel and we have been unlucky with injuries, but we can’t use that as an excuse to explain why we are battling. The fact is we have lost games that we should have won. We need to kick-start our season sooner rather than later. We must keep working hard and not look to blame anyone; just look at yourself and make sure you are putting your hand up week in, week out, trying to improve the Blues.”
Tito, who has previously skippered Taranaki, The Hurricanes, New Zealand Under-21s and led the New Zealand Maoris to victory in the 2006 Churchill Cup, says that it was “an honour” to take up the captaincy from No8 Xavier Rush last term but adds: “I have been disappointed to miss a few games as captain this season, as it is a much tougher job to gee up the troops when you are losing. It is certainly easier to captain a winning side, but it is when things are not going your team’s way that you should be working hardest.”
The former New Plymouth Boys’ High School attendee is grateful for the presence of former All Black Rush, however. “Xavier has been around Cardiff for a long time now and I’ve never met a man who can sit so many people back down – he runs over them! I’m glad he is on my team rather than against me!”
Ex-international Kiwi full-back Ben Blair also shone for the Blues last season and, with centre Casey Lualua due to make his bow before long alongside British Lion Jamie Roberts, Tito believes that the quality of the All Black trio will stop the Blues’ rot. “I played against these guys for so long in New Zealand and it is a pleasure to be finally playing with them,” he continues.
“I keep a massive eye on the results back home still. Taranaki will always be very close to my heart and I stay in touch with quite a few of those boys – it is always interesting to see how they are doing and what they are up to.”
When asked how he sees the All Blacks’ opening game of their European tour, against Wales in Cardiff on November 8, going Tito suggests that the home side could pull off a shock. “It is as good a time as any for the Welsh to beat the All Blacks – that’s certainly what the South Wales press would have you think,” he grins.
“A year or so again I would have not been able to say that but this year they have a real shot at beating the All Blacks, who are not on top of their game at the moment and are most probably looking ahead to the World Cup in 2011.
“Of course I will definitely supporting the All Blacks over Wales – I’ve still got a lot of my mates in the team. But I think it is going to be the closest game for a long while, certainly since I have been over here. It is a bit of a touchy subject with a few of my Welsh team-mates – I just hope the All Blacks win so that they can’t give me any stick.
“Between World Cups we are normally world beaters and this year that has not been the case. I actually think that it is quite good that they are not flying this time – we want to be peaking at the World Cup on home soil. I hope it is good management rather than good luck that will get us there. I’m sure they will be working hard in camp at the moment after a fairly tough year and they will want to finish off well on tour in the Northern Hemisphere.”
Though Tito rarely ventures back to New Zealand – “the weather’s usually lousy back home when I get time off, so I usually explore Europe instead” – he has vowed to return as a player. “Home is always home – I will definitely be going back one day – but in the meantime I am really enjoying my time with the Blues in Cardiff,” he adds. “It is a great place to live and when the Blues win it makes life pretty good, too. And for now I am concentrating on making that happen again.”
Just over six months ago, on a warm April afternoon at Twickenham, skipper Paul Tito proudly held aloft Cardiff Blues’ first ever trophy after the second-row and his team-mates had torn Guinness Premiership giants Gloucester to shreds in the EDF Energy Cup Final by playing fluid, jaw-dropping rugby.
Their 50-12 crowning victory in the Anglo-Welsh competition was certainly one in the eye for England – and a fortnight later Tito’s team almost toppled the European hegemony, too, but they were cruelly defeated in the Heineken Cup semi-final by Leicester Tigers.
The big 31-year-old, who was forced to withdraw after only ten minutes at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, could barely watch as the Blues forced the two-time winners to a sudden-death penalty shoot out when the scores were tied at 26 after extra time. When Wales flanker Martyn Williams hooked his effort wide Leicester No8 Jordan Crane successfully dropped his kick to drag the Tigers through to the final at Murrayfield.
Regardless, Tito, in his first season as captain, hailed the Blues’ achievements – the first silverware for the Welsh region, formed in 2003, and a best-ever finish in Europe’s premium cup competition. It was, in short, what the flame-haired Kiwi labels “a dream year”.
However, rather than building on last season’s success the Blues have endured a nightmare start to this campaign, which kicked off in early September. Despite being one of the most eye-catching sides in European rugby last term and boasting a new, state-of-the-art £48m (105m NZD) home venue, Dai Young’s troops lost four out of their first five games; their solitary success was a 19-15 win over the poor Llanelli Scarlets at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Tito was carried off with a head injury in Cardiff’s Heineken Cup Pool 5 opener in early October – a 20-6 win over troubled London Harlequins – and consequently missed out on the 27-26 defeat to Sale Sharks the following week. Though he is clueless as to why his Blues have failed to click so far this season, but determined to lead from the front and right their faltering campaign.
“It is tricky to work out what is going wrong – none of us can put our finger on it at the moment,” admits Tito, who joined the Blues from Taranaki in the summer of 2007. “It was a hell of a season, a dream year, last season, but it means nothing for this year. We picked up a good win against Quins but we stumbled against Sale and we will have to push on again now.
“We have lost a few personnel and we have been unlucky with injuries, but we can’t use that as an excuse to explain why we are battling. The fact is we have lost games that we should have won. We need to kick-start our season sooner rather than later. We must keep working hard and not look to blame anyone; just look at yourself and make sure you are putting your hand up week in, week out, trying to improve the Blues.”
Tito, who has previously skippered Taranaki, The Hurricanes, New Zealand Under-21s and led the New Zealand Maoris to victory in the 2006 Churchill Cup, says that it was “an honour” to take up the captaincy from No8 Xavier Rush last term but adds: “I have been disappointed to miss a few games as captain this season, as it is a much tougher job to gee up the troops when you are losing. It is certainly easier to captain a winning side, but it is when things are not going your team’s way that you should be working hardest.”
The former New Plymouth Boys’ High School attendee is grateful for the presence of former All Black Rush, however. “Xavier has been around Cardiff for a long time now and I’ve never met a man who can sit so many people back down – he runs over them! I’m glad he is on my team rather than against me!”
Ex-international Kiwi full-back Ben Blair also shone for the Blues last season and, with centre Casey Lualua due to make his bow before long alongside British Lion Jamie Roberts, Tito believes that the quality of the All Black trio will stop the Blues’ rot. “I played against these guys for so long in New Zealand and it is a pleasure to be finally playing with them,” he continues.
“I keep a massive eye on the results back home still. Taranaki will always be very close to my heart and I stay in touch with quite a few of those boys – it is always interesting to see how they are doing and what they are up to.”
When asked how he sees the All Blacks’ opening game of their European tour, against Wales in Cardiff on November 8, going Tito suggests that the home side could pull off a shock. “It is as good a time as any for the Welsh to beat the All Blacks – that’s certainly what the South Wales press would have you think,” he grins.
“A year or so again I would have not been able to say that but this year they have a real shot at beating the All Blacks, who are not on top of their game at the moment and are most probably looking ahead to the World Cup in 2011.
“Of course I will definitely supporting the All Blacks over Wales – I’ve still got a lot of my mates in the team. But I think it is going to be the closest game for a long while, certainly since I have been over here. It is a bit of a touchy subject with a few of my Welsh team-mates – I just hope the All Blacks win so that they can’t give me any stick.
“Between World Cups we are normally world beaters and this year that has not been the case. I actually think that it is quite good that they are not flying this time – we want to be peaking at the World Cup on home soil. I hope it is good management rather than good luck that will get us there. I’m sure they will be working hard in camp at the moment after a fairly tough year and they will want to finish off well on tour in the Northern Hemisphere.”
Though Tito rarely ventures back to New Zealand – “the weather’s usually lousy back home when I get time off, so I usually explore Europe instead” – he has vowed to return as a player. “Home is always home – I will definitely be going back one day – but in the meantime I am really enjoying my time with the Blues in Cardiff,” he adds. “It is a great place to live and when the Blues win it makes life pretty good, too. And for now I am concentrating on making that happen again.”
Labels: Cardiff Blues, Heineken Cup, Paul Tito, rugby union
