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THE Benji Marshall experiment was doomed from the start.
League to rugby conversions have a notoriously low success rate, but Marshall's failure to make any impact at the Blues has nothing to do with the intricacies of his new code and everything to do with the fact he was past his best as an athlete.
They reckon that rugby players - both codes - are a bit like boxers and the legs go first, the career follows.
As Marshall laboured his way through 50 minutes in Wellington on Friday, it wasn't his turn-and-shuffle passing that pegged him as a dead duck. It wasn't his lack of length or intricacy in his kicking game either.
No, it was the chronic lack of acceleration that no doubt troubled Blues coach John Kirwan most. It would have been the missing zip and spark that made Kirwan think that he was dealing with someone who could be at this rugby business for another five years and still be a shadow on the fast tracks of Super Rugby which tend to be dominated by young, agile men.
BENJI WANTS RELEASE TO RETURN TO NRL
Kirwan always backed himself to turn a great athlete into great rugby player. What he's discovered in the last six months is that he doesn't have a great athlete on his hands.
The Tigers, it now seems, came to that conclusion last year. The offer they made Marshall earlier was suddenly reduced. They could see the future.
The Blues rushed in where others feared to tread, and reached down the back of the couch to find all the loose change they could.
BRENDAN CANNON: GIVE IT UP, BENJI
Perhaps they should have twigged before they bought Marshall. Perhaps they should have twigged when he turned up out of condition - a long way behind the rest of the squad - but it would appear they have reached a conclusion.
It maybe unfair to judge Marshall on just 212 minutes, but if his legs have gone, he's gone.
*Courtesy New Zealand Herald
What do you think of Benji's decision to quit rugby?
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