Dalton Papalii replaced as Blues captain for 2024 season

The Blues have named 43-test All Black Patrick Tuipulotu as captain ahead of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season, replacing fellow All Black Dalton Papalii.

Tuipulotu, who will likely bring up 100 Super Rugby caps for the Auckland franchise this season, finished last year with 99 appearances.

He captained the side previously from 2019-2021 and said being named as Blues captain is an honour he doesn’t take lightly.

“The feeling you get leading this side into battle each week is something special,” said Tuipulotu.

“We’ve got a core of experienced Blues men who lead in their own way and it’s my job to empower that group of leaders to help propel the team forward.”

“Captaincy comes with a weight of expectation – we represent the people of our region and as a team we strive to do our fans proud whenever we pull on the Blues jersey.”

“We’ve set ourselves high standards for the 2024 campaign, we believe we have the squad to do something special and we’re working hard in the pre-season to make that a reality,” he said.

Blues head coach Vern Cotter said Tuipulotu has a strong influence on the team.

“Patty is a natural leader in this group, he’s an experienced head with nearly 100 caps for the team and has the respect of the players around him. I’m confident he’ll do an excellent job leading the Blues in 2024,” said Cotter.

“We’ve got a group of guys in our squad with a range of leadership experience, so they’ll provide a sounding board and help lighten the load for Patty throughout our campaign,” he said.

Tuipulotu was also keen to point out the impact his players can have on the community and region through their actions off the field.

“As part of our pre-season, we had our Fill the Blues Bus campaign where we collected gifts for the Salvation Army. Doing community projects like that help keep the boys grounded and give them an appreciation of the people and community they’re playing for.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission