The Blues have appointed former Māori All Blacks and Hurricanes lock Paul Tito as an assistant coach, as Super Rugby Pacific 2023 approaches.
Tito, 44, replaces Ben Afeaki, who departs to join Major League Rugby side Rugby New York. He links with the Blues, after a successful stint with Georgia, fresh from a 13-12 shock upset over Wales last month.
Now, Tito returns home and will put his previous Super Rugby allegiance to one side to take up an opportunity with an exciting Blues side.
"I played a fair few years for the Hurricanes," said Tito. "That's professional sport these days.
"I dragged my feet up here on Sunday a little bit, but I'm proud to be here and I'm really going to enjoy this year.
"We love to give back to this game that's given us a lot. There's plenty of experience in this group.
"It's great to have TC [forwards coach Tom Coventry] here for me, a wealth of experience and knowledge. I'll be looking to get in his slipstream and learn a lot off him.
"We want to test ourselves at the highest level and keep improving as well."
Tito joins the Blues at arguably the most exciting time in the franchise's recent history, after two years of marked improvement under Leon MacDonald.
In 2021, the Blues won the one-off Super Rugby Trans-Tasman and finished second only to the Crusaders in the inaugural 2022 Pacific format.
After the Blues forwards were given a clinic - most notably at the lineout - in their final defeat, Tito is happy to lend his expertise at the set-piece, which was his speciality as a player.
"There's a lot of potential here," he added. "If you look around the group, there's some special players.
"We've got to come together as one, and make sure we're nice and physical, do the basic stuff well. We should be there or thereabouts.
"Lineouts are a competitive thing. The Crusaders are renowned for a great defensive lineout. They had a strategy that worked that night, but other times it doesn't work.
"It's a couple of minor things we need to get to the bottom of and be consistent in our drill."
