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Masterful performance: Otere Black reminds New Zealand that the Blues have three expert first fives on their books
That was a performance to remember for Otere Black – and it was a long time coming.
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The Blues got their Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign off to a dazzling start in front of a packed-out Eden Park with a 30-20 win over the Hurricanes, thanks largely to a career-best performance by Black, a man many had written off in recent weeks.
At perhaps the most pivotal moment in his young career, Black paid back the faith of Blues selectors to start in a match that was supposed to be all about Beauden Barrett.
The headlines on Sunday evening belong to the man from Manawatu who, with his 15-points and flawless kicking display, showed that he could make plays, time his passes to perfection, and run the backline at both first and second receiver.
There will be a lot of chatter about the influence that Barrett and Dan Carter had on the Blues’ big win, but to look past Black in that 80-minutes of rugby would be incredibly naive.
Some big metres from the Blues' big left wing – but was he the best on the park in their win over the Hurricanes? #SuperRugbyAotearoa #BLUvHURhttps://t.co/aRPx5MRUOE
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 14, 2020
The confidence that the 25-year old showed in his game today was remarkable; he was entirely unfazed by the massive crowd and bulky size of tacklers targeting him. Black, like most first fives, has never been the biggest man on the rugby field in any given game, but he never looked rushed in the showdown with the Hurricanes – which should remind rugby fans of other Kiwi greats to don the same number jersey.
Where Carlos Spencer was all about the razzle-dazzle during the Blues heyday, Otere Black plays in a style similar to that of an Aaron Cruden and new Blues teammate Dan Carter, with the ability to place kicks perfectly both in the air and along the ground without having to do anything flashy.
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Executing set piece or in broken play, Black also held the pass just long enough to give more room to his outside runners in the performance against the Hurricanes. Black can thank the hard work of his forward pack, particularly the impact of loosie Hoskins Sotutu, who cracked the line to give the Blues great go-forward ball throughout.
Oh, but the influence of Barrett and Carter? No, these are bits to Blacks’ game that he’s been working on for a long time.
Black deserves all the credit, you’d be hard stretched to find a better performance out of the 25-year old that matched today’s showing and its importance cannot be underscored enough.
Great things have been expected of the Black almost since he first caught the eye back in the green and white Manawatu Turbos strip. Following on from that, Black stood out for the New Zealand Under 20 side before losing some of his momentum when he started out his Super Rugby career with the Hurricanes – thanks, in part, to a run of unfortunate injuries.
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Cut from the same cloth as the likes of Ihaia West, Mitch Hunt and Josh Ioane, it was perhaps these three that many saw as bright talents for the future and who were lumped with lofty expectations.
Today, Black met and exceeded those expectations, and it’s truly fascinating that it came at this time in particular.
All the headlines about the Blues ahead of Super Rugby Aotearoa have been about Barrett and Carter. Any talk about Black in the press has been around him being something of the unluckiest player in New Zealand Rugby, to have those two stars arrive in camp as he was preparing and finally ready to get concentrated time running the Blues backline.
It would’ve been an easy, perhaps even safer bet by Blues coach Leon MacDonald to have Barrett start at first five instead of Black or to do a straight swap of the two later in the match, especially considering the likes of Matt Duffie and Harry Plummer also being in the stable.
That, as it turns out, would’ve been a tremendous lost opportunity because the pairing of Black and Barrett seemed to gel without any issue whatsoever. What’s more, that pairing looked more fluid and certain for the Blues than the much-talked-about Mo’unga/Barrett combination at first five and fullback respectively ever did in 2019 for the All Blacks.
That should really say something about the merits of Black’s performance against the Hurricanes. It’s only early days in Super Rugby Aotearoa, but Black has already positioned himself as the first five of form.
Who would’ve thought that little over a week ago? Certainly not those who wrote Black off and painted Beauden Barrett as the great Blues saviour.
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
27 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
27 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
27 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments