Blake Gibson has needed patience in his rugby career.

The 22-year-old loose forward, named at No 8 for Saturday’s Auckland versus Northland encounter, debuted for Auckland as far back as 2014, but two injury-ravaged 2015-16 provincial seasons means he will only now hoist the milestone.

“It’s my fourth year in the team, so it doesn’t average out to be many games in the season. I’m pretty keen to run out and get it (the blazer) and get a win,” says Gibson, who already has his Blues blazer, having played twice as many games (27) for the franchise.

“It’s been a bit frustrating being on the sidelines the last couple of years, but I’m relatively fresh now. It’s good to keep the mind fresh as well. When you are not training hard during Mitre 10 Cup, you can have a bit more downtime.”

Gibson posted some good numbers for the Blues during the Super Rugby season and now he gets the chance to show some of his versatility, though he did in fact appear off the back of the scrum in 2014 against Northland and in his final year at St Kentigern (2013), where he was a captain who led by example.

“It’s a good test for me and to add to my skillset under pressure,” he says.

The vaunted Northland loose trio of No 8 Dan Pryor, former Auckland loosie Kara Pryor and Jack Ram will offer a stern test, as the Steelers did last weekend.

“They’ve got plenty of quality players all over the park. They’ll bring physicality and we’ll have to be near our best to get the win.”

Auckland was slightly off the pace in the 16-14 defeat to Counties Manukau, but the issues are very fixable.

“It wasn’t quite there in certain areas on the weekend, but I think we need to stick to the structures we are learning, hold onto the ball and capitalise on our opportunities,” Gibson says.

“We’ve got lots of youth and experience, so it’s about building those combinations. If we can bring all that together, hopefully we can be a team that others won’t enjoy playing.”

Gibson is also happy to be developing a leadership role within this team, especially around the defence.

“I’ve learned a lot at the Blues to grow that area of my game. Previously I’ve probably struggled to lead off the field, so it’s good to have a role that will test me.”

Replacement prop Isi Tu’ungafasi will also get the opportunity to achieve his blazer game should he take the field against Northland. - Campbell Burnes