Dane Blacker
| Birth name | Dane Blacker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 6 July 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ynysybwl, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 78 kg (12 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Coleg y Cymoedd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dane Blacker (born 6 July 1998) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays for Dragons regional team as a scrum-half. He is a former Wales Under-20 international.[1] Blacker has previously played for Cardiff Rugby and the Scarlets.
Club career
[edit]Blacker came through the youth team at Pontypridd RFC, while a member of the Cardiff Blues academy.[2] Blacker made his debut for the Cardiff Blues regional team in 2016.
During the 2017–18 Pro14 season, Blacker joined the Dragons on a short term loan.[3] He appeared twice, scoring on his debut against Ulster.[4]
Ahead of the 2019/20 season, Blacker moved from Cardiff to the Scarlets.[5] Despite competing for the starting shirt with Wales internationals Gareth Davies and Kieran Hardy, Blacker made more starts during the 2020–21 Pro14 season than any other scrum half for the Scarlets.[6] During this season, he was also the Scarlets top try scorer, touching down six times.[7] Blacker was voted Supporters Player of the Month back to back in April and May 2021.[8] He once again won the award in December 2022.[9]
On 13 April 2023, it was announced that Blacker would join the Dragons for the 2023–24 season, his second stint with the club following his 2017 loan.[10]
International career
[edit]Blacker was part of the Wales U20 team, representing them in 2017 and 2018 in the U20 Six Nations and the World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[11]
He has also represented Wales Sevens at numerous World Rugby Sevens Series events.
Blacker was selected in the Wales squad for the 2022 Autumn Internationals.[12]
Blacker was named on the bench for the Wales team against Georgia for the test on 19 November 2022, but was not substituted on and therefore did not make his test debut.[13] He was not selected for the final test against Australia.
References
[edit]- ^ "Dane Blacker". www.ultimaterugby.com. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ Orders, Mark (19 October 2022). "Dane Blacker is Wales pick few saw coming after Cardiff exit and Scarlets fight". WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "Dane Blacker heads to Dragons on loan". Cardiff Rugby Life. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ "Ulster 52-25 Dragons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "Danny Drake: New Zealand lock among three new players at Scarlets". BBC Sport. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ Orders, Mark (19 October 2022). "Dane Blacker is Wales pick few saw coming after Cardiff exit and Scarlets fight". WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "Dane Blacker". Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "Dane at the double for player of the month award". Scarlets Rugby. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Dane Blacker voted Castore Player of the Month". Scarlets Rugby. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Dragons sign scrum-half Blacker from Scarlets". BBC Sport. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "World Rugby U20 Championship: Scrum-half Dane Blacker returns for Wales". BBC Sport. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ "Wales autumn rugby squad announcement as Wayne Pivac names five uncapped players". Wales Online. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ James, Ben (15 November 2022). "Wales team v Georgia in full as Josh Macleod to finally get debut in six changes". WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
