Blackwell revelling in regular game time

Above: James Blackwell scoring his third NPC try in 26 matches played so far for Wellington. 

The Duane Monkley medal is awarded to the Player of the Year in the National Provincial Championship.

Monkley was a tough lock and loose forward out of the Waikato and shares a lot in common with James Blackwell - one of the leading contenders to receive his prize in 2018.

Blackwell has finally achieved regular minutes and is revelling after a litany of injuries.

“I've fractured my foot three times, twice at school and once in preseason with the Hurricanes. I've  ruptured my PCL and this year had two concussions,” Blackwell bemoans.

“Injuries are part and parcel of being a professional player, but it's nice to have the body right for a change,” Blackwell continues.

The Wellington Lions have got things right at present. On Saturday, Wellington enjoyed their biggest win of the season, 53-13 against Counties Manukau to retain the Jonah Lomu trophy.

“We expected them to be very tough. The Lomu trophy adds a lot of intensity to the fixture. We play for a lot of trophies, but a lot of them involve players we never saw playing. We all grew up watching Jonah which adds a lot of motivation and makes it pretty special,” Blackwell observes.

Will Mangos had a special season with Old Boys University, winning the Jubilee Cup. The presence of Mangos in the Lions squad has forced Petone's Blackwell to lift his game to greater heights.

“It’s awesome to have Will in the environment. He’s a good player and another wheel in the cog of competitiveness. We rotate a bit as a squad so the onus is on everyone to perform,” Blackwell reflects.

Blackwell sees little difference between lock and playing on the side of the scrum.

“Both roles are pretty interchangeable so I don’t really have a preference for where I play. I guess the only difference is some of the roles around set piece,” Blackwell explains.

Wellington are performing strongly in the Premiership residing in third place having won four out of six games. Last year Wellington won the Championship overcoming Bay of Plenty 59-40 in extra time in the final.

“It was pretty good to be part of that game. We went into it with good momentum, but they scored the first try and made it tough. Momentum is a key to success and I feel we have good momentum at the moment,” Blackwell says.

Blackwell played eight games last year and has appeared in every match this season. In 2013, Blackwell was the head prefect of Wellington College, but missed most of the rugby season with injury. He returned to school the following year.

“I wasn’t 100 percent sure if I’d do a Year 14, but in hindsight it was a good decision. I didn’t have the responsibilities as the head boy and I managed to play some good rugby. I took different subjects to the previous year and managed to get qualifications in things I never thought I would,” Blackwell recalls.

Wellington should have the qualifications to beat Manawatu this Sunday in Palmerston North for the Coronation Cup. The Turbos are second to last in Championship, but Blackwell is taking nothing for granted.

“Manawatu are a tough side who always get up for us. They haven’t had a great season so far so they’ll be determined to turn things around,” Blackwell concludes.