Ethan Blackadder of the All Blacks is tackled during the International Test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Tonga. Photo / Getty Images.
Ethan Blackadder of the All Blacks is tackled during the International Test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Tonga. Photo / Getty Images.
OPINION:
It's tempting to believe in destiny when a young man follows in his dad's footsteps to become an All Black but that doesn't necessarily apply in Ethan Blackadder's case.
The 26-year-old will wear the No7 jersey against Fiji in Dunedin on Saturday a week after impressing as a replacementin the All Blacks' 102-0 victory over Tonga, but, despite attending traditional rugby school Nelson College, Blackadder junior was never that keen on rugby in his youth.
He preferred to go hunting in the weekends. Everyone who saw Todd play can see the resemblance now – the toughness, similarities in body shapes and same doggedness in chasing the ball or opposition – but back then young Ethan was keener on literally forging his own path.
He still is, and now there is also an undeniable anticipation within the All Blacks selectors that Ethan could go on to be something special in a black jersey.
Ethan Blackadder of the Crusaders makes a break during the Round 5 Trans-Tasman Super Rugby match between Melbourne Rebels and Canterbury Crusaders. Photo / Getty Images.
Todd, a lock or loose forward, played 12 tests and captained the All Blacks in 2000, his final year in the team.
Like his dad, Ethan wouldn't do something if he couldn't commit to it and, like his dad, he started to take rugby seriously once he left school.
About eight years ago I asked Todd how Ethan was going in senior rugby and his reply was: "Yeah, pretty good."
There has never been pressure on the young man to conform to expectations. As a Nelson College boarder, Ethan was used to making his own decisions in his own time and, once he dedicated himself to rugby, his development was swift.
As such he's a poster boy for kids developing in their own time and Todd probably deserves credit too for his lightness of touch. Asked after his All Blacks debut last week at Mt Smart what advice he got from his father, Ethan replied that he didn't get any; just a general "good luck".
Ethan Blackadder from the Crusaders fends off Reesjan Pasitoa from the Brumbies during the round one Super Rugby Trans-Tasman match. Photo / Getty Images.
In May, a Facebook page aligned with the Tasman Mako posted an image of Ethan driving a forklift while wearing a high-vis jacket taken four years earlier. He's come a long way in that time - via the Crusaders academy and two Super Rugby titles - but he's had his setbacks too in the form of serious knee, shoulder and concussion issues and, now that he's here, Jason Ryan, his forwards coach at the Crusaders, expects him to pose some serious questions for the selectors.
"One thing about Ethan is that he's very positive in all situations," Ryan told the Herald.
"He's just unbelievably tough – mentally and physically. He'll work harder than anyone and never give up. I think he'll shake up a few selection battles around that No7 jersey.
He'd be great against a team like South Africa too. I'm really rapt for him.
"He prides himself on getting the detail right on his game and his analysis on the opposition. He's always trying to get better and it's a point of difference for him. Another is his phenomenal work rate, and he's really grown his game around his ball skills – catch, pass and offload game. He's got reward for that."
Ethan has been seen as more of a blindside flanker than an openside but after making the switch to the Crusaders No7 jersey so easily this year, and showing such promise against Tonga, he now has the opportunity to mark himself as a genuine option for later in the year, and his ability to shift big men may see his stocks rise against such big teams as South Africa, Argentina, Ireland and France.
Given the injured Sam Cane is the incumbent and skipper, (the also injured) Ardie Savea's best position generally considered to be openside flanker and Dalton Papalii's form (before his calf strain last weekend), the No7 jersey is likely to be one of the many highly contested positions in the All Blacks this year.
It will be a challenge that Ethan Blackadder will take to in his usual fearless manner.
Ryan also happens to be the Fiji forwards coach and he knows what's coming at his men under the roof on Saturday; a highly-prepared and motivated No7 who will scrap for every metre and possession.
Like he said, it could be the start of a significant shake up.
