Bay of Plenty Steamers sign Blues first five
Whanau has played a major part in Otere Black signing with the Bay Steamers for this year’s Mitre 10 Cup.
The 25-year-old is having a steller Super Rugby Aotearoa season with the Blues and despite the fact he is competing with a current and a former All Blacks first-five; Beauden Barrett and Daniel Carter, Black’s form has justifiably kept him in the starting 15.
Black says becoming a first-time dad and getting to be near his whanau was a major reason for signing with the Bay.
“We have a home here in Rotorua now and making sure my family could come and watch me play was a big factor. My mum and dad have been huge supporters for us growing up and they always try to come and watch us play. It’s also a good opportunity to give back to my family and my people here in the Eastern Bay.”
Growing up in the Eastern Bay of Plenty town of Ruatoki, meant Black had an active upbringing.
“It’s a bit different to nowadays with technology with iPads and movies and things like that. We never really had that back in the day. So, we would always head out and find things to do. Like eeling, fishing and all that sort of stuff. We were just real outdoor kids.
The 25-year-old’s passion for rugby was born on the backyard playing fields of Ruatoki.
“Especially at the marae, there was always a rugby ball around and we would always play rugby or touch. They all get into the sports and everyone gets behind the local team. They really enjoy their sport there.”
Playing professional rugby was a dream for Black.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CD5Ag0QAMzD/
“It was something I wanted to do, but for some reason I didn’t think I’d get to do it, especially being a young Maori boy growing up. I never thought I’d get to where I am now.”
Black says part of the reason the Blues have done well this season is through the club’s culture.
“I think it’s definitely played a part in coming together as a group and having a good culture within the club.
“Obviously, there is a lot of us who come from a cultural background, we have a few Islander boys and a few Maori boys and we all sort of try to connect on and off the field.”
Black says he is looking forward to joining the Steamers.
Bay of Plenty Steamers coach Clayton McMillan says securing Black’s services for the Mitre 10 Cup would add another element to the team.
“He is a pretty quiet humble sort of guy, but one who brings a lot of experience and that’s going to be beneficial to us.
“The fact he is from Ruatoki and is familiar with the Bay of Plenty region is icing on the cake.”
McMillan says Black will be a great addition to the Steamers this season with the side’s elevation to the Mitre 10 Cup Premier Championship.
“He brings a slightly different style to the table. I see Otere’s strengths being his technical and tactical appreciation for the game. He understands how to put players in space and drive a team around the field. We have some exciting firepower in our backs so creating opportunities for them to shine will be a big part of our plans.”
Otere Black is making every play a winning one right now but the Manawatu pivot didn't have the easiest start to his Super Rugby career with the Blues, writes @TomVinicombe. #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/8xtJYGAcRF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 24, 2020
“Otere knows we’ve got some young talented players, including two very able first-fives in Dan Hollinshead and Kaleb Trask. That level of depth and quality in a game driver role will generate some internal competition for places, and ensure we are adequately covered positionally to meet the challenges of competing in the Premiership.
Bay of Plenty Rugby chief executive Mike Rogers says its great to have Black playing for the Bay.
“You hear the cliché around role models. But I think we’ve got some fantastic young male and female talent in the Eastern Bay and right throughout the region.
“I think having Otere back in the Bay and just the way he’s been able to forge a career in rugby is a great example for our young people.
Maori make up nearly 30 per cent of rugby players nationally and Rogers says having players like Black is a great influence for rangatahi (young people).
“From a Bay of Plenty point of view having Otere and Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi involved on and off the field creates a really special opportunity.
“To have guys like them involved in our game here in the Bay will definitely help inspire our young Maori male and female players.”
The Steamers will kick off their 2020 Mitre 10 Cup campaign on Sunday 13 September at 2.05pm against Taranaki in Inglewood.
The first home game for the Steamers will be against Southland at the Rotorua International Stadium on September 19.
– Bay of Plenty Rugby
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments