RobLawMax Labour Hire Player Profile: James Blackwell (Petone)

Some of Petone's young guns in action on Saturday against MSP from left to right: Jacob Gooch, Brad Shields, Josh Hrstich, James Blackwell (in headgear) and Ta'amilo Va'a. Photo courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/PetoneRugby

Much of the focus of this weekend's second round set of Wellington club rugby Jubilee Cup games will be the match at the Hutt Recreation Ground between the home side Hutt Old Boys Marist and Petone. Both teams are coming off first round wins, HOBM getting up over Old Boys University 30-27 and Petone beating Swindale Shield winners Marist St Pat's 27-19.

After being off the pace in recent seasons, Petone have made somewhat of a resurgence in 2014. They lost 13-44 to OBU early in the year but since then they have beaten three of last year's top four sides and have won their last five games. Their win on Saturday was their first in the Jubilee Cup since mid-July 2011 when they beat HOBM 31-25.

Much of their improvement can be attributed to their band of enthusiastic young players. From the starting XV that played in their 2012 Jubilee Cup 23-23 draw with HOBM, just one player - second five-eighth Nick Grigg - started against MSP on Saturday.

One new Petone player working hard both on and off the field chasing the Jubilee Cup dream is James Blackwell, who missed the second half of the Swindale Shield with a broken thumb but returned to play MSP on Saturday.

Coming back from adversity is something Blackwell is familiar with, the then Wellington College Head Prefect out of action for the entire 2012 season with a serious leg injury after leading his school to a 20-18 win over St Pat's Silverstream in the Premier 1 final in 2011. He returned to Wellington College last year as captain and helped them win 18 out of 22 games and make the national Top Four. He was then selected as captain of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Barbarians team. Here's a bit more about him:

Name: James Blackwell

Club: Petone

Playing positions: Lock, blindside flanker, No. 8

Secondary School attended: Wellington College

First rugby club played for: Wests Roosters

?

Earliest memory playing rugby:

Running around in the mud at Ian Galloway Park.

Playing position growing up:

Lock.

Favourite memory from First XV or representative rugby to date:

Winning the 2011 Quadrangular tournament with the Wellington College First XV.

If you could choose any current rugby player, from across the world, to join your team - who would it be and why:

Nick Cummings - the banter would be great.

What's good and bad about training:

Everything's good about training - apart from the fitness work.

Hobbies and interests outside of rugby:

I play cricket.

What do you do for study/work outside of rugby:

Studying biology at Victoria University.

Favourite movie or TV show:

All the Rush Hour movies; the Internship.

A recent book I read was:

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

Your signature dish is:

Bacon and egg pie.

A motto I live by is:

Do you what you feel is right.

?

• Hutt Old Boys Marist v Petone
• Jubilee Cup Round 2
• Hutt Recreation Ground, 3.00 pm this Saturday
• Live on Radio Sport: 1503 AM/93.7 FM and selected Twitter handles