Benji Marshall is tackled as he tries to get a pass away on Friday night – Photo: Carl Peterson

by Brendan Bradford –

Benji Marshall played an even match without attempting too much in the Blues’ second trial match of 2014. As planned, Marshall was replaced at halftime as the Blues fell 33-12 to a slick looking Waratahs side at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.

With his side defending for the opening stanza, Marshall didn’t see the ball for 15-minutes and contented himself with shovelling passes along the backline. He defended one out from the ruck on the Blues’ own line and spent his fair share of time defending at fullback, but was steamrolled by Will Skelton for the Tahs’ second try of the night. You can hardly blame him for falling off Skelton, the former Wests Tigers playmaker gave up 21cm and a good 30kg to Big Will. Bigger men than Marshall have failed to tackle him too.  

Positionally Marshall was sound, but with little risk came little reward. After quickly passing to his outside man from five or six possessions, he managed an offload the one time he took the ball into contact.

In terms of playmaking, he wasn’t so much directing traffic as he was merging in and out of it, like a nervous motorist navigating a new city at rush hour. Which is understandable for a second game fly-half.

So, the jury’s still out. There wasn’t anything to suggest Marshall couldn’t be successful, but with the monumental achievements of the two high profile code-hoppers who preceded him – Israel Folau and Sonny Bill Williams – the bar has been set incredibly high.

That pressure will only be compounded if the Blues persevere with him at fly half. While SBW and Folau were eased into the game via the wing or fullback, the No. 10 jersey is a different prospect altogether.

On the upside, he can plumb the untold wealth of knowledge of his closest advisors in Sirs John Kirwan and Graham Henry.

It’s a pity for the Blues that he didn’t get some experience in the ITM Cup last year. Auckland finished third in the Premiership and were bundled out 56-26 in the semis against Canterbury, but the high-paced, rough-and-tumble provincial competition would have been the perfect introduction to the game. With just one trial match remaining, Marshall simply hasn’t had enough game time to adapt to a new position in a new code.

The Blues play the two time defending champion Chiefs next Friday in Rotorua. The Chiefs are coming off a 31-20 loss to the Reds in Toowoomba on Saturday night.