Milestone match for Otere Black
The 50-game milestone beckons for one of the Manawatu Turbos’ most influential figures of the past six seasons - Otere Black.
The first five-eighth has had the green and white No 10 jersey under lock and key ever since making his debut as 19-year-old in 2014.
His 50-game feat against Northland on Thursday night will come at just 24-years-old.
Heading into this Thursday’s match, Black’s 49 appearances have been made up of 41 starts and 8 games off the bench where he has racked up 387 points.
Black’s consistent goalkicking and willingness to put others in positions to make plays has made him so vital to the Turbos.
His poise has been on show since he first pulled on the Turbos jersey.
In just his second game at Mitre 10 Cup level, Black scored an impressive 22 points against Wellington.
That 2014 season he would go on to play a key role in the side’s charge to the Championship title including starting the semi-final and final where he kicked 13 and 10 points respectively.
In 2015 he cracked the Hurricanes team for the first time and was the starting No 10 as the New Zealand Under 20s claimed the Junior World Championship.
Among Black’s more memorable moments in green and white was slotting a penalty on fulltime to secure a win in 2016 over Southland in a season that also saw him play key roles in a win over Canterbury and the side posting 50 points on Wellington.
In 2018 Black shifted to the Blues in Super Rugby, but a knee injury meant he had to wait until 2019 to make his Blues debut.
Such was his form in the opening rounds of the 2019 competition, Black was listed by several in the media as an All Blacks contender.
Black reminded fans of his class during the Turbos’ valiant attempt to grab the Ranfurly Shield off Otago last weekend setting up two tries, one when he stepped his way through the line and found captain Jamie Booth with the inside ball, the other with a perfect skip pass to put Adam Boult away in the corner.
Just three players in the current squad have more caps to their names than Black - flanker Nick Crosswell, lock Fraser Stone and midfielder Hamish Northcott.
Captain Jamie Booth is next in line to bring up 50 games with Thursday night being his 47th.
Booth made his Turbos debut one week after Black.