In 2012, James Blackwell was Head Prefect and First XV captain at Wellington College. He passed five NCEA subjects with an excellence endorsement and was selected to take part in the Hurricanes under-18 development camp.
In 2013, he returned to school for year 14, why?
“My goal is to be a professional rugby player. I spent most of 2012 injured which held back my development. I wanted to put on more size and be in contention for New Zealand Schools’ which would help me get closer to that goal,” Blackwell says.
“Academically I was unsure of the direction I was heading so I took four new subjects which helped me resolve what I wanted to do at university.”
In two years Blackwell passed nine NCEA subjects, including English twice. He improved his mark in 2013.
How did Blackwell’s parents and school react to his decision to repeat.
“Everybody was really supportive. Once they figured out I was genuine, it was easy. There was no stigma at all”, Blackwell recalls.
In 2012, the First XV won 16 out of 20 games. They stormed through Premier One unbeaten, but stumbled in the final against St. Pats Silverstream.
Blackwell missed the decider and coach Greg Sharland recalls that was a vital blow.
“From a young age James demonstrated advanced leadership skills. He is highly respected in a team environment and re-markedly calm under pressure.”
“He is mentally tough and resilient. I recall a practice where James managed to dislocate his finger. It was a freezing Wellington evening and James decided that making his way to hospital was too much of a hassle so he grabbed his finger, gave it a tug and whipped it back into place. To the astonishment of his teammates he then carried on with practice as if nothing had happened”, Sharland says.
Blackwell is used to being injured. He has suffered back to back stress fractures, damaging different metatarsals in his left foot. The injury surfaced in an early season game against Rongotai College in 2012 and remained until the end of the season.
While playing for the Hurricanes Development this year he fell awkwardly and broke his ankle, missing eight weeks, including the New Zealand Under-20′s Gold Coast tour.
Why is a damaged commodity rated so highly? Sharland provides some insight.
“For most players it’s easy to identify their strengths and weaknesses. For James, this is very difficult to do because he is such a well-rounded player. His accuracy in all aspects of rugby is exceptional. He is a student of the game who looks to out think and outplay his opponent.”
In 2013, Wellington College won 18 out of 22 games. They reached the National Top Four for the sixth time and for the first time since 2008. Blackwell was selected captain of the New Zealand Barbarians.
Blackwell recalls the close bond of the team played a major part in their success.
“There was a real brotherhood within the side. Everybody was willing to die for each other. We trained early in the morning, even without our coaches. We improved with every game.”
St. Pats Silverstream were the initial pace setters in Wellington that season. They thrashed Wellington 25-11 in the traditional – Wellington’s biggest loss in that fixture since 1986.
They met again in the final and Wellington prevailed, 25-22. Blackwell’s leadership and lineout disruption in combination with 20 points from Pakai Turia proved telling.
Wellington won four games in eight days which also included the Premier one semi-final and the annual quadrangular tournament in Nelson.
“It’s hard to identify a single game that stands out, but the Quad and Premier One finals were definite highlights. You work all season towards winning those and to win such close games was real emotional,” Blackwell says.
Since leaving school, Blackwell has played 12 games in two seasons for Petone. He was a member of the Wellington Under-19 team that won the National championship last year and has commenced a sports science degree at Victoria University, while putting on at least 10kg.
He says the confidence is high and the bond is strong in the New Zealand 20′s team.
“I watched some of the games last year and the guys weren’t as well prepared as they could have been.”
“We have been training since November and have won four games. Everybody understands the systems and their role within the team.”
Did You Know?
James' brother Adam is at Wellington College. He is a McEvedy Shield javelin champion and member of the First XV rugby and First XI cricket teams.
James mother Elizabeth represented Waikato in hockey.
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