SIXWAYS prop prospect Callum Black is full of praise for director of rugby Mike Ruddock’s ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ philosophy — and insists he can justify the burdon of responsibility placed upon his young shoulders.
The 23-year-old loosehead, who has been thrust into the first-team spotlight by a succession of front row injuries, is determined to prove his worth and become Warriors’ first choice in the number one jersey.
Ironically, an injury to Black’s good mate Matt Mullan has presented the former Hartpury College student with his big chance — and he admits he is driven to succeed by Mullan’s rapid rise to prominence.
After England Saxon Mullan suffered a long-term hamstring injury, it seemed that summer signing Adam Black would assume Worcester’s loosehead duties, but ruthless Ruddock hauled the former Dragons man out of the first XV after the pack’s poor showing in the Harlequins defeat and gave Black junior the shirt.
And the academy graduate is not ready to let his rugby director down. The prop, who was born in Maryland in the USA and has represented Ireland at under 18s, 19s and 21s, said: “I have full confidence that if I perform well and keep working on my game — my set-piece, around the field, making tackles and trying to carry the ball more — the coaching staff will have confidence to keep me as first choice and that I’m worth the jersey.
“Matt got given his opportunity, worked hard to take it and is now on the fringes of the England team — every player must take confidence from that and if you work and train hard and are dedicated, you can reach the same heights. I am certainly hoping to reach those heights too.
“Matt and I are good mates — we’ve grown up over the last four years together in the academy and in the Guinness ‘A’ League. We work well together and help each other out when we can. He is disappointed with his injury, but I’m sure he’ll come back stronger.
“Having someone like Matt in the same position as me is good because it makes me train harder and will make me a better player. It will be hard to get him out of the team, but having somone of that quality in my position is a good thing.
“Matt is just training with Shaun Ruwers in the weight room at the moment, so there hasn’t been any banter about me keeping his place in the first team — I’m sure there will be though when he comes back!”
Throughout his time at Sixways, Black has not been known for his try-scoring prowess, so when he was driven over for a late score in the Guinness Premiership defeat to Harlequins, the delight on his face was clear to see.
He even admits that the significance of his touch-down — it earned Warriors an unlikely losing bonus point — was lost on him in the heat of the moment.
He explained: “I’ll be honest, I hadn’t scored for about four years, so it was a bit of a shock. It was my first try for the first team, so I was really pleased.
“I didn’t actually realise at the time that it had secured the bonus point, I was just happy to be on the field and playing my part.”
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